Bonatea was described by the German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1805, and named after Guiseppe Bonato, who was a professor of botany at the University of Padua in Italy. Currently about 20 species are known in the genus, all of them occurring in mainland Africa with one species ranging into Yemen. Bonatea was at times included in the genus Habenaria with which it shares most of its characters (Kurzweil & Weber 1992).

Bonatea speciosa, an unusual terrestrial orchid, is admired for its delicate, somewhat bizarre, green and white flowers. It is also comparatively easy to grow both in pots and in flowerbeds in the garden which has added to its popularity. The species B. speciosa is one of the more widespread members of the genus, and its species name alludes to the attractive flowers: speciosa means beautiful. Growing orchids from seed is a fairly specialized undertaking and it requires a bit of understanding of tissue culture techniques. If you have never grown orchids from seed we recommend that before attempting this you should first contact your local Orchid Society, or purchase a book on the subject, or both!