Acianthus cuneatus

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Hooded mosquito orchid
Acianthus cuneatus habit.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Acianthus
Species:
A. cuneatus
Binomial name
Acianthus cuneatus
Labellum detail Acianthus cuneatus.jpg
Labellum detail

Acianthus cuneatus is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to seven translucent greenish flowers with purplish stripes markings and is found growing in sheltered slopes in open forest on the Northern Tablelands.

Contents

Description

Acianthus cuneatus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herb with a single heart-shaped, glabrous, dark green leaf that is purplish on its lower surface. The leaf is 20–65 mm (0.79–2.56 in) long, 15–48 mm (0.59–1.89 in) wide on a stalk 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) tall. There are up to seven, well-spaced, translucent greenish flowers with purpish markings on a thin raceme 50–200 mm (2.0–7.9 in) tall, each flower 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide, translucent pink with purplish lines and forms a hood over the column. The lateral sepals are 5.5–6.5 mm (0.22–0.26 in) long, about 1.3 mm (0.051 in) wide, and linear to lance-shaped, the tips often curving backwards or outwards. The petals are translucent and are about 3.5–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and curve inwards. The labellum is purple, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide and wedge-shaped, the callus dark purplish red with a central channel about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide. Flowering occurs from February to April. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Acianthus cuneatus was first formally described by in 2017 David Jones and Lachlan Mackenzie Copeland and the description was published in Australian Orchid Review from specimens collected on Mount Duval in 1994. [3] The specific epithet (cuneatus) is a Latin word meaning "wedge-shaped", referring to the shape of the labellum [2]

Distribution and habitat

This orchid grows on slopes and in sheltered areas in tall open forest on the higher parts of the Northern Tableland between Coolah Tops and Tenterfield in New South Wales. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acianthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Acianthus, commonly known as mosquito orchids, is a genus of about twelve species of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Mosquito orchids are terrestrial herbs with a single, heart-shaped, usually ground-hugging leaf and one to many small, green, pinkish or purplish flowers on a fleshy stalk. They are found in New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand.

<i>Burnettia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Burnettia cuneata, commonly known as the lizard orchid, is the only species of the flowering plant genus Burnettia in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is a leafless terrestrial, mycotrophic herb with one or two leaf-like bracts and up to seven flowers that are brownish on the back and pink or white inside. It is endemic to southeastern Australia where it grows in dense thickets in swamps.

<i>Acianthus apprimus</i> Species of flowering plant

Acianthus apprimus, commonly known as early mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and between two and nine translucent pinkish flowers with reddish markings and is found in disjunct populations around the state.

Acianthus borealis, commonly known as northern mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Queensland in Australia. It is a glabrous, terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and between two and twenty transparent pinkish flowers with reddish markings and is widely distributed on the eastern tablelands.

Acianthus collinus, commonly known as hooded mosquito orchid or inland mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and between two and nine translucent pinkish flowers with reddish markings and is found growing in colonies on sheltered slopes in open forest in on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range.

<i>Acianthus exiguus</i> Species of flowering plant

Acianthus exiguus, commonly known as tiny mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to five translucent greenish-white flowers with pinkish markings and is found growing in forests on the north coast of the state.

<i>Acianthus exsertus</i> Species of flowering plant

Acianthus exsertus, commonly known as gnat orchid or large mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to 25 small, fine, dark brown flowers with pinkish and purplish markings and is found growing in sheltered places in forests in Queensland, New South Wales the ACT and Victoria.

Acianthus pusillus, commonly known as small mosquito orchid, is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to 18 small, translucent green or pinkish flowers with reddish marking and a green to reddish-purple labellum. It is widely distributed, growing in moist places from central-eastern Queensland, south through New South Wales and Victoria to South Australia and Tasmania.

Caladenia dorrigoensis is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It has a single leaf and a single white flower with purple marks on its labellum.

Prasophyllum campestre, commonly known as the sandplain leek orchid, or inland leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, yellowish-green leaf and up to twenty greenish, strongly scented flowers with red, purplish, brown or white marks. It grows in the drier parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

<i>Prasophyllum dossenum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum dossenum is a species of orchid endemic to a small area of northern New South Wales. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to thirty scented pinkish-white and greenish-brown flowers crowded along an erect flowering stem. It is a rare orchid which grows in grassy places on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.

<i>Prasophyllum solstitium</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum solstitium is a species of orchid endemic to the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It has a single tubular, bright green leaf and up to thirty five greenish-pink to purplish-red flowers crowded on the flowering stem. It grows in grassland on heavy basalt soil.

Genoplesium alticola, commonly known as the tableland midge orchid, is a small terrestrial orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to twenty five small, hairy, dark purplish-red and green flowers. It grows in two small areas of the state at altitudes between 600 and 750 m.

Genoplesium pedersonii, commonly known as Pederson's midge orchid, is a species of small terrestrial orchid endemic to the Blackdown Tableland in Queensland. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to thirty small, greenish red to reddish, self-pollinating flowers with a dark purplish red labellum. The species is treated as Corunastylis pedersonii in Queensland.

Corybas globulus is a species of helmet orchid endemic to a small area of the New England Tableland in northern New South Wales. It is a relatively small orchid with a bright green, heart-shaped leaf and a bulbous, dark reddish purple flower.

<i>Prasophyllum basalticum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum basalticum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to fifteen scented, greenish-brown to brownish-red flowers with a white and green labellum. It grows in grassy woodland on the Northern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum graniticola is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to twenty five scented, greenish to brownish and white flowers. It is only known from two populations on the Northern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum holzingeri is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to fifteen unscented, greenish to brownish pink and white flowers. It is only known from a few populations in the Barrington Tops area.

Prasophyllum pictum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to twenty two scented brown, pink, purple and white flowers. It is only known from three subpopulations on the Northern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum pilligaense is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to thirty scented greenish brown to brownish and white flowers. It is only known from a few populations in the Coonabarabran district.

References

  1. "Acianthus cuneatus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L.; Copeland, Lachlan M. (2017). "Acianthus cuneatus, (Orchidaceae), a new species from the Northern Tablelends of New South Wales, Australia". The Australian Orchid Review. 82 (6): 51–53.
  3. "Acianthus cuneatus". APNI. Retrieved 12 March 2022.