''Disa'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. It comprises about 182

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Most of the species are indigenous to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, with a few more in the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, and

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

.Hans Peter Linder and Hubert Kurzweil. 1999. ''Orchids of Southern Africa''. 504 pages. A. A. Balkema. . '' Disa bracteata'' is naturalised in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, where the local name is "African weed-orchid." The genus ''Disa'' was named by P.J. Bergius in 1767.Peter Jonas Bergius. 1767. ''Descriptiones Plantarum ex Capite Bonae Spei'': 348. (See ''External links'' below). It was named after Disa, the

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

ine of a Swedish

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume II. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington,DC;, USA. London, UK. (vol. II). (see ''External links'' below).

Description

The

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s grow from a fleshy

tuberous root Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reprod ...

which is a source of

maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a name shared by two different families of chemicals. Both families are glucose polymers (also called ''dextrose polymers'' or ''Dextrin, dextrins''), but have little chemical or nutritional similarity. The digestible maltodextr ...

s which are used as a

sugar substitute A sugar substitute or artificial sweetener, is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Arti ...

. Some species attain a height of 90 cm. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are solitary or arranged in

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and the

lip The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

are small. The flowers consist essentially of the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s. The flowers range in color from very light to dark red.

Pollination

''Disa'' exhibits a variety of

pollination syndrome Pollination syndromes are suites of flower traits that have evolved in response to natural selection imposed by different Pollination, pollen vectors, which can be abiotic (wind and water) or biotic, such as birds, bees, flies, and so forth thro ...

s. Each species of ''Disa'' usually has a single species as

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

and nearly every available pollinating insect is employed by some species of ''Disa''. Species that adapted to the same pollinator often independently evolved a similar

floral Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants (Flowering plant, angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls in ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

which confounded the infrageneric

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

of ''Disa'' until

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

analysis was applied to

DNA sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nu ...

s from this genus. Examples of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

in ''Disa'' pollination include the following: * flowers pollinated by

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

have evolved twice, for example the pollination of '' Disa uniflora'' and '' Disa ferruginea'' by the Table Mountain Pride butterfly (''Aeropetes tulbaghia'') (

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

) * flowers with conspicuous

deception Deception is the act of convincing of one or many recipients of untrue information. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the information does not. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Tort of ...

, pollinated by

carpenter bee Carpenter bees are species in the genus ''Xylocopa'' of the subfamily Xylocopinae. The genus includes some 500 bees in 31 subgenera. The common name "carpenter bee" derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant m ...

s, have evolved twice. * long-spurred flowers, pollinated by long-tongued

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

, have evolved four times. * night-scented flowers, pollinated by

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s, have evolved three times. ''Disa'' serves as an example of how

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

can be caused by changes in pollinator availability and evolution. Some ''Disa'' species are pollinated by

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s and have pollinaria that stick to the feet of the sunbirds when they perch on the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

Phylogeny

The first molecular phylogeny of the genus involved comparison of nuclear ribosomal ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2 sequences, and showed that '' Herschelia'' and '' Monadenia'' were nested within a

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

''Disa''. In ''Genera Orchidacearum'' volume 2, ''Disa'' and ''Schizodium'' compose the

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

Disinae of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Diseae.Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip J. Cribb, Mark W. Chase, and Finn N. Rasmussen. 1999-2014. ''Genera Orchidacearum'' Oxford University Press. (volume 1), (volume 2), (volume 3), (volume 4), (volume 5), (volume 6). After that volume was

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

in 2001,

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies showed that ''Schizodium'' is nested within ''Disa''.. ''Schizodium'' comprises only six species, all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In a

of orchids that was

in 2015, Chase et alii placed ''Schizodium'' in

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

under ''Disa''. They also defined the subtribe Disinae as consisting of ''

Pachites ''Pachites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It contains two known species, both endemic to South Africa.Hans Peter Linder and Hubert Kurzweil. 1999. ''Orchids of Southern Africa''. 504 pages. A. A. Balkema. .Kew ...

'', ''Disa'' and '' Huttonaea''. This version of Disinae is probably not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, but was created as a holding classification, to avoid the unnecessary designation of subtribes before further studies can clarify the relationships of these three genera.

Seeds

The genus can be split into two groups based on the size of the seeds. Those with relatively large balloon-shaped seeds up to 1.5 mm long belong to the ''Disa uniflora'' group. The remaining species have seeds that are smaller than 0.7 mm. The ''Disa uniflora'' group comprises plants that grow along stream sides: '' Disa uniflora'', '' Disa tripetaloides'', '' Disa cardinalis'', '' Disa caulescens'' and '' Disa aurata''. They belong to the few species in Orchidaceae that do not rely on

mycorrhizal A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

fungi for germination, and are thought to be an adaptation to

hydrochory In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors ...

. This pattern was later extended to split the genus into summer rainfall species and non-summer rainfall species. Those in the second group added '' Disa cornuta'' to the list of ''Disa'' seeds that germinate readily.

Horticulture

The species '' Disa uniflora'' is well known as an ornamental. It is a spectacular red orchid known as "The Pride of Table Mountain."PlantZAfrica.com, ''Disa uniflora'' Bergius
/ref> Other commonly cultivated species include '' Disa aurata, Disa cardinalis, Disa crassicornis, Disa racemosa, Disa sagittalis'', and '' Disa tripetaloides''. Anthony Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). ''The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening''. The Macmillan Press,Limited: London. The Stockton Press: New York. (set). Some of the species are grown only in African

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

.Eric Harley, Sid Cywes, and H. Peter Linder. 2013. ''A Disa Companion: The Art and Science of Disa Cultivation''. Author House. 123 pages. . Once very rare in cultivation, '' Disa uniflora'' is gaining in popularity as a

cut flower Cut flowers are flowers and flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is removed from the plant for decorative use. Cut greens are leaves with or without stems added to the cut flowers for con ...

. However, they are difficult to grow, because of the needed

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

composition of the potting soil. Also, if exposed to excessive moisture, they can be easily killed by rot.

Hybrids

The following species have been used to create more than 400 hybrids : ''Disa cardinalis'', ''Disa caulescens'', ''Disa racemosa'', ''Disa tripetaloides'', ''Disa uniflora'', ''Disa aurata'' and ''Disa venosa''. * ''Disa ''×'' brendae'' (''D. caulescens'' × ''D. uniflora'') (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * ''Disa ''×'' maculomarronina'' (''D. hircicornis'' × ''D. versicolor'') (S. Africa).. * ''Disa ''×'' nuwebergensis'' (''D. caulescens'' × ''D. tripetaloides'') (South Africa, Cape Prov.). * ''Disa ''×'' paludicola'' (''D. chrysostachya'' × ''D. rhodantha'') (South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal).

Species

Species currently (May 2014) recognized: * Disa sagittalis Flipphi 1

'' Disa aconitoides'' (Ethiopia to S. Africa) ** ''Disa aconitoides'' subsp. ''aconitoides'' (Ethiopia to S. Africa) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa aconitoides'' subsp. ''concinna'' (Congo to S. Trop. Africa) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa aconitoides'' subsp. ''goetzeana'' (Ethiopia to Tanzania) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa aequiloba'' (SW. Tanzania to Angola) * '' Disa alinae'' (Congo) * '' Disa alticola'' (Mpumalanga / East-Transvaal) * '' Disa amoena'' ( Mpumalanga / East-Transvaal) * '' Disa andringitrana'' (SE. & S. Madagascar) * '' Disa aperta'' (SW. & S. Tanzania to Zambia) * '' Disa arida'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa aristata'' (S. Africa, Northern Prov.) * '' Disa atricapilla'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa atrorubens'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa aurata'' (South Africa, Cape Prov. (Swellendam) * '' Disa barbata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa basutorum'' (S. Africa (Drakensberg) * '' Disa baurii'' (Tanzania to S. Africa) * '' Disa begleyi'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa bifida'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa biflora'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa bivalvata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa bodkinii'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa bolusiana'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa borbonica'' (Réunion) * '' Disa brachyceras'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa bracteata'', formerly ''Monadenia bracteata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.; naturalised in Australia) * '' Disa brevicornis'' (S. Trop. & S. Africa) * '' Disa brevipetala'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.; Kleinmond area) * '' Disa buchenaviana'' (C. & SE. Madagascar) * '' Disa caffra'' (Southern Congo to S. Africa, Madagascar) * '' Disa cardinalis'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.; Riversdale) * '' Disa caulescens'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa cedarbergensis'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.; Cedarberg) * '' Disa celata'' (S. Tanzania to Angola) * '' Disa cephalotes'' (S. Africa) ** ''Disa cephalotes'' subsp. ''cephalotes'' (S. Africa) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa cephalotes'' subsp. ''frigida'' (Lesotho to KwaZulu-Natal) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa cernua'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov) * '' Disa chimanimaniensis'' (Chimanimani Mts, Zimbabwe) * '' Disa chrysostachya'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa clavicornis'' (Mpumalanga / East-Transvaal) * '' Disa cochlearis'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.; Elandsberg) * '' Disa comosa'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa conferta'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa cooperi'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa cornuta'' (Zimbabwe to S. Africa) * '' Disa crassicornis'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa cryptantha'' (Ethiopia, S. Tanzania to Zambia) * '' Disa cylindrica'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa danielae'' (S. Congo) * '' Disa darrenida'' (South Africa) * '' Disa densiflora'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa dichroa'' (S. Congo to Zambia) * '' Disa dracomontana'' (S. Africa (C. Drakensberg) * '' Disa draconis'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa ecalcarata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.; Constantiaberg) * '' Disa elegans'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa eminii'' (Rwanda to Zambia) * '' Disa engleriana'' (Tanzania to Zambia) * '' Disa equestris'' (Trop. Africa) * '' Disa erubescens'' (Trop. Africa) ** ''Disa erubescens'' subsp. ''carsonii'' (Tanzania to Zambia) ** ''Disa erubescens'' subsp. ''erubescens'' (Trop. Africa) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa esterhuyseniae'' (South Africa, WSW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa extinctoria'' (South Africa; Northern Prov., Eswatini) * '' Disa fasciata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa ferruginea'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa filicornis'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa forcipata'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.; Possibly extinct) * '' Disa forficaria'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa fragrans'' (Ethiopia to S. Africa) ** ''Disa fragrans'' subsp. ''deckenii'' (NE. & E. Trop. Africa to Congo) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa fragrans'' subsp. ''fragrans'' (Tanzania to S. Africa) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa galpinii'' (South Africa, E. Cape Prov. to KwaZulu-Natal) * '' Disa gladioliflora'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa gladioliflora'' subsp. ''capricornis'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa gladioliflora'' subsp. ''gladioliflora'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa glandulosa'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa graminifolia'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa hallackii'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa harveyana'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa harveyana'' subsp. ''harveyana'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa harveyana'' subsp. ''longicalcarata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa helenae'' (Zambia) * '' Disa hians'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa hircicornis'' (Trop. & S. Africa) * '' Disa incarnata'' (C. & SE. Madagascar) * '' Disa intermedia'' (South Africa, Eswatini) * '' Disa introrsa'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.; Skurweberge) * '' Disa karooica'' (South Africa, NW. & C. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa katangensis'' (S. Congo to Angola) * '' Disa linderiana'' (South Africa, W. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa lineata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa lisowskii'' (Congo) * '' Disa longicornu'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa longifolia'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa longilabris'' (SW. Tanzania to N. Malawi) * '' Disa lugens'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa lugens'' var. ''lugens'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa lugens'' var. ''nigrescens'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.; Oyster Bay) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa macrostachya'' (South Africa W. Cape Prov.; Rooiberg) * '' Disa maculata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa marlothii'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa micropetala'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa miniata'' (SW. Tanzania to S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa minor'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa montana'' (South Africa, E. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa multifida'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa neglecta'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.; Worcester) * '' Disa nervosa'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa newdigateae'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.; Knysna area) * '' Disa nigerica'' (Nigeria to Congo) * '' Disa nivea'' (S. Africa, S. Drakensberg) * '' Disa nubigena'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.; Devils Peak) * '' Disa nyikensis'' (Malawi to Zambia) * '' Disa obtusa'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa obtusa'' subsp. ''hottentotica'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa obtusa'' subsp. ''obtusa'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa obtusa'' subsp. ''picta'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa ocellata'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa ochrostachya'' (Cameroon to Tanzania and S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa oligantha'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa ophrydea'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa oreophila'' (S. Africa) ** ''Disa oreophila'' subsp. ''erecta'' (South Africa, S. Africa; Drakensberg) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa oreophila'' subsp. ''oreophila'' (S. Africa.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa ornithantha'' (SW. Tanzania to S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa ovalifolia'' (South Africa, WSW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa patula'' (Zimbabwe to S. Africa) ** ''Disa patula'' var. ''patula'' (South Africa, E. Cape Prov. to Mpumalanga / East-Transvaal) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa patula'' var. ''transvaalensis'' (Zimbabwe to S. Africa) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa perplexa'' (Nigeria, E. & S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa physodes'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa pillansii'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa polygonoides'' (Mozambique to S. Africa) * '' Disa porrecta'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa praecox'' (S. Trop. Africa; Nyika Plateau) * '' Disa pulchella'' (Ethiopia, Yemen) * '' Disa pulchra'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa purpurascens'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa pygmaea'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa racemosa'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa renziana'' (Congo) * '' Disa reticulata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa rhodantha'' (Zimbabwe to S. Africa) * '' Disa richardiana'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa robusta'' (EC. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa roeperocharoides'' (S. Congo to Zambia) * '' Disa rosea'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa rufescens'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa rungweensis'' (SW. Tanzania to Malawi) * '' Disa sabulosa'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa sagittalis'' (South Africa, S. & SE. Cape Prov. to S. KwaZulu-Natal) * '' Disa salteri'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov) * '' Disa sanguinea'' (South Africa, E. Cape Prov. to S. KwaZulu-Natal) * '' Disa sankeyi'' ( S. Africa) * '' Disa satyriopsis'' (Tanzania to Zambia) * '' Disa saxicola'' (Tanzania to S. Africa) * '' Disa schizodioides'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa schlechteriana'' (South Africa, SSW. Cape Prov.; Langeberg) * '' Disa scullyi'' (South Africa, E. Cape Prov. S. KwaZulu) * '' Disa scutellifera'' (NE. & E. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa similis'' (S. Trop. & S. Africa) * '' Disa spathulata'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa spathulata'' subsp. ''spathulata'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa spathulata'' subsp. ''tripartita'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa stachyoides'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa stairsii'' (NE. Congo to E. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa stricta'' (S. Africa) * '' Disa subtenuicornis'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.; Riversdale) * '' Disa telipogonis'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa tenella'' (South Africa, Cape Prov.) ** ''Disa tenella'' subsp. ''pusilla'' (South Africa, W. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte ** ''Disa tenella'' subsp. ''tenella'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa tenuicornis'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa tenuifolia'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa tenuis'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa thodei'' (S. Africa, Eastern Cape to Drakensberg) * '' Disa triloba'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov) * '' Disa tripetaloides'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov. to S. KwaZulu-Natal) * '' Disa tysonii'' (South Africa, S. & E. Cape Prov. to Leshoto) * '' Disa ukingensis'' (S. Tanzania to E. Zambia) * '' Disa uncinata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa uniflora'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa vaginata'' (South Africa, SW. & S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa vasselotii'' (South Africa, S. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa venosa'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa venusta'' (South Africa, SW. & E. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa verdickii'' (S. Congo to Angola) * '' Disa versicolor'' (S. Trop. & S. Africa) * '' Disa virginalis'' (South Africa, SW. Cape Prov.) * '' Disa walleri'' (Burundi to S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa walteri'' (SW. Tanzania) * '' Disa welwitschii'' (Trop. & S. Africa) ** ''Disa welwitschii'' subsp. ''occultans'' (Trop. Africa) ** ''Disa welwitschii'' subsp. ''welwitschii'' (Trop. & S. Africa) Tuber geophyte * '' Disa woodii'' (Zimbabwe to S. Africa) * '' Disa zimbabweensis'' (Manicaland, Zimbabwe) * '' Disa zombica'' (Tanzania to S. Trop. Africa) * '' Disa zuluensis'' (Mpumalanga / East-Transvaal, KwaZulu-Natal)