Imp orchid
Illustration from Robert D. FitzGerald#Australian Orchids[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Vandeae
Subtribe: Aeridinae
Genus: Papillilabium
Dockrill[2]
Species:
P. beckleri
Binomial name
Papillilabium beckleri
(F.Muell. ex Benth.) Dockrill[3]
Synonyms[3]
  • Cleisostoma beckleri F.Muell. ex Benth.
  • Sarcochilus beckleri (F.Muell. ex Benth.) F.Muell.
  • Sarcanthus beckleri (F.Muell. ex Benth.) Rupp
  • Saccolabium virgatum T.E.Hunt

Papillilabium beckleri, commonly known as the imp orchid,[4] is the only species in the genus Papillilabium from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is a small, epiphytic orchid with many thin roots, between two and six linear leaves and up to eight pale green or brownish flowers. The flowers are fragrant, produce nectar and have a warty labellum. It grows on shrubs and trees in humid places and near streams and is found between south-east Queensland and the Sydney region in New South Wales.

Description

Papillilabium beckleri is an epiphytic herb with many thin, wiry roots, a single shoot and stems 10–40 millimetres (0.39–1.6 in) long. Each stem has between two and six linear to lance-shaped, leaves 30–50 millimetres (1.2–2.0 in) long and 2–4.5 millimetres (0.079–0.18 in) wide, often with pink or purple spots. Up to eight pale green or brownish flowers 7–8 millimetres (0.28–0.31 in) long and 4–6 millimetres (0.16–0.24 in) wide, sometimes with purple markings, are borne on flowering stems 15–40 millimetres (0.59–1.6 in) long. The sepals and petals spread widely apart from each other, the sepals about 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long and 1 millimetre (0.039 in) wide, the petals slightly narrower. The labellum is white, green or yellowish, sometimes with purple markings, about 4 millimetres (0.16 in) long, 3 millimetres (0.12 in) wide with three lobes. The side lobes are long and narrow and the middle lobe is warty with a spur 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long. Flowering occurs from September to October.[4][5][6]

Taxonomy and naming

The imp orchid was first formally described in 1873 by George Bentham from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller. Bentham gave it the name Cleisostoma beckleri and published the description in Flora Australiensis from a specimen collected by Hermann Beckler near the Clarence River.[7][8] In 1967, Alick Dockrill changed the name to Papillilabium beckleri.[9] The name Papillilabium is derived from the Latin words papilla meaning "nipple", "teat"or "bud"[10]: 587  and labium meaning "lip".[10]: 486  The specific epithet honours the collector of the type specimen.[11][12]

Distribution and habitat

Papillilabium beckleri grows on shrubs and trees in humid places and near streams and is found between Mapleton in Queensland and the Royal National Park in New South Wales.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ drawing by R. D. Fitzgerald, lithography by Arthur J.Stopps (1833-1931) - Robert D. FitzGerald (1830 – 1892): "Australian Orchids" pl. 85
  2. ↑ "Papillilabium". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. 1 2 "Papillilabium beckleri". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  4. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 439. ISBN 1877069124.
  5. 1 2 Weston, Peter H. "Papillilabium beckleri". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Bailey, R.M. "Papillilabium beckleri". Flora and Fauna of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. ↑ "Cleistosoma beckleri". APNI. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1873). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 6. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 296. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  9. ↑ "Papillilabium beckleri". APNI. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  10. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. ↑ "Beckler, Hermann (1828 - 1914)". Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Pearn, John H (21 January 2013). "Australian orchids and the doctors they commemorate". The Medical Journal of Australia. 198 (1): 52–4. doi:10.5694/mja12.10867. PMID 23330773.
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