FZ.22. Disperis Sw.

Erect, terrestrial herbs arising from small tubers and growing in very shallow soil or leaf mould in forest. Leaves 1-few, alternate or opposite. Flowers solitary or in racemes, Bracts leaf-like. Dorsal sepal united with the petals to form a hood-like structure varying from a ± flat limb to an elongate spur; lateral sepals each usually with a conspicuous spur or pouch near the inner margin. Petals variously shaped, often falcate. Lip greatly modified and characteristic of the species, joined to the column and bearing a distinctive appendage.

Worldwide: 75 species in tropical and South Africa, Mascarenes and Indomalesia

Malawi: 15 taxa.