Disa uniflora - The red disa, also known as the pride of Table Mountain, is a member of the orchid family. The genus disa contains about 180 species with most originating from Southern Africa. It has a native range confined to the Sandstone Mountains of South Africa’s Western Cape province. It prefers areas near waterfalls, moist cliffs, small streams or mountain seeps; a seep is a wet area or pool fed by an underground aquifer. A perennial plant, the red disa grows to heights ranging from 15 to 60 centimeters and puts out new plants through runners, stems growing on or just below the soil. Flowering occurs during the summer months, December to March, and results in large scarlet or deep red blooms measuring almost 10 centimeters in length; pink, orange and yellows blooms are rare. The red disa relies solely on the Table Mountain beauty, a butterfly in the Aeropetes genus, for pollination.
