Floral morphology of the Polystachya Hook. (Orchidaceae) in Nigeria.

A study of the floral morphology of the 32 Polystachya Hook. species in Nigeria, all occurring in the wild, was undertaken in search of simple, non-technical characters for their identification. The study has revealed that each lip is distinctive and can be recognized on the basis of their macroscopical and microscopical attributes. Additional 8 new records of species for Nigeria, 4 of which were new for West Africa, were included in the study.P. cooperi, with large, showy, dense and copious flowers could be explored for domesticaion. Poor representation of the herbaria specimens for some species suggests that some of them are actually rare and require urgent conservation attention before they are lost to science and horticulture.