Bulbophyllum globuliforme

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Green bead orchid
Bulbophyllum globuliforme.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae
Genus: Bulbophyllum
Species:
B. globuliforme
Binomial name
Bulbophyllum globuliforme
Synonyms [1]

Oncophyllum globuliforme(Nicholls) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Contents

Bulbophyllum globuliforme, commonly known as the green bead orchid, [2] miniature moss-orchid [3] or hoop pine orchid, [4] is a species of epiphytic orchid with tiny spherical pseudobulbs, scale-like leaves and small cream-coloured flowers with a yellow labellum. It grows on the scaly bark of hoop pine ( Araucaria cunninghamii ), mostly on the McPherson Range on the New South Wales/Queensland border in eastern Australia. Because of its small size it is often dismissed as moss.

Description

Bulbophyllum globuliforme is an epiphytic herb with pale green, more or less spherical pseudobulbs that are 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) in diameter. Each pseudobulb has a single papery, scale-like leaf 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) long. A single cream-coloured flower about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide is borne on a thread-like flowering stem 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long. The sepals and petals spread widely, the sepals about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide, the petals about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 0.5 mm (0.02 in) wide. Flowering occurs from September to November and from May to August. [2] [3] [4] [5]

This orchid is rarely encountered, except on fallen branches after storms, and is easily mistaken for a moss. [6]

Taxonomy and naming

Bulbophyllum globuliforme was first formally described in 1938 by William Nicholls in the Orchidologia Zeylanica. [7]

Distribution and habitat

The green bead orchid grows on the scaly bark of hoop pine in rainforest, mainly on the McPherson Range in eastern Australia. [2] [3] [4]

Conservation

This orchid species is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and the New South Wales Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. In Queensland it is classed as "rare" under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. [3]

Related Research Articles

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Bulbophyllum bowkettiae, commonly known as the striped snake orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with thin, creeping rhizomes and flattened pseudobulbs each with a single tough, dark green leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with red stripes. It grows on trees and rocks in rainforest in tropical North Queensland, Australia.

Bulbophyllum argyropus, commonly known as the silver strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic or sometimes lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia, including Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. It has crowded pseudobulbs, tough, dark green leaves and up to four small whitish to yellowish flowers with an orange labellum.

<i>Bulbophyllum baileyi</i> Species of orchid from Australia and New Guinea

Bulbophyllum baileyi, commonly known as the fruit fly orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is native to Queensland and New Guinea. It has coarse, creeping rhizomes, curved, yellowish pseudobulbs with a single thick, fleshy leaf, and a single cream-coloured flower with yellow, red or purple spots. It grows on trees and rocks in open forest, often in exposed places.

Bulbophyllum boonjee commonly known as the maroon strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid that is endemic to tropical North Queensland. It has crowded, flattened pseudobulbs, stiff, pale green leaves and up to four small, bell-shaped maroon flowers with darker stripes.

<i>Bulbophyllum exiguum</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum exiguum, commonly known as the tiny strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has small, roughly spherical pseudobulbs each with a single leaf and up to three small creamy white to yellow flowers emerging from the base of the pseudobulb. This orchid grows in rainforest and dry forest where it often covers the branches of trees or rocks on which it grows.

<i>Bulbophyllum gracillimum</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum gracillimum, commonly known as the wispy umbrella orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid. It has a creeping rhizome, widely spaced, olive green pseudobulbs, each with a single thick, leathery, fleshy leaf and between six and ten purplish red flowers spreading in a semicircular umbel. The flowers have distinctive long, thread-like tails on the lateral sepals. It has a wide distribution and is found in New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia, Malaysia and part of tropical North Queensland.

Bulbophyllum lamingtonense, commonly known as the cream rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with well-spaced pseudobulbs and brown bracts arranged along the stems. Each pseudobulb has a single, fleshy, channelled leaf and a single cream-coloured or white flower with yellow tips. It grows on trees and rocks near cliffs and the edge of rainforest near the eastern border between New South Wales and Queensland.

Bulbophyllum lilianae, commonly known as the warty strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to tropical North Queensland. It has widely spaced, deeply grooved, dark green to yellowish pseudobulbs, thin but tough, dark green to yellowish leaves and up to three cream-coloured, pale green or reddish flowers with dark red stripes and a pink labellum. It grows on shrubs, trees and rocks, often in exposed situations.

<i>Bulbophyllum longiflorum</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum longiflorum, commonly known as the pale umbrella orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid. It has a creeping rhizome, widely spaced, dark green pseudobulbs with a single large, fleshy leaf, and flowers spreading in a semicircular umbel, resembling one-half of an umbrella. The flowers are canoe-shaped, greenish cream-coloured to yellowish with purple dots. It has a wide distribution and is found in parts of Africa, on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and northern Australia.

Bulbophyllum macphersonii, commonly known as eyelash orchids, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to Queensland. It has tiny, crowded, slightly flattened, dark green pseudobulbs, a single thick, fleshy leaf and a single dark red to purplish red flower with a narrow labellum. It grows on trees and rocks in sheltered places.

Bulbophyllum minutissimum, commonly known as the red bead orchid or grain-of-wheat orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with small, flattened, reddish or green pseudobulbs, scale-like leaves and small whitish to reddish flowers with broad dar red stripes. It grows on trees and rocks, mostly in swamps and near streams in eastern Australia.

Bulbophyllum nematopodum, commonly known as the green cowl orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that has small, flask-shaped pseudobulbs pressed against the surface on which it grows. Each pseudobulb has roots at its base, a single shiny, fleshy leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with red spots on its top. It grows on trees and rocks in rainforest and is endemic to tropical North Queensland.

Bulbophyllum radicans, commonly known as the striped pyjama orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with long, hanging stems with roots near the base and covered with brown, papery bracts which partially hide the pseudobulbs. Each pseudobulb has a single thin leaf. A single small pink, cream-coloured or yellow flower with red or purplish stripes is borne on a thin flowering stem that emerges from the base of the pseudobulb. This orchid grows on trees or rocks in or near rainforest in tropical North Queensland.

<i>Bulbophyllum schillerianum</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum schillerianum, commonly known as the red rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid. It has well-spaced pseudobulbs each with a single grooved leaf and cluster of small, red or orange flowers with a hairy labellum. It grows on trees and rocks sometimes in rainforest but also on trees in cleared paddocks, and is endemic to eastern Australia.

<i>Bulbophyllum shepherdii</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum shepherdii, commonly known as the wheat-leaf rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that forms a dense mat of branching rhizomes pressed against the surface on which it grows. The pseudobulbs are well spaced along the rhizome, each with a single egg-shaped leaf and a single small, white or cream-coloured flower with yellow tips. It grows on trees and rocks in rainforest and is endemic to eastern Australia.

<i>Bulbophyllum wadsworthii</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum wadsworthii, commonly known as the yellow rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that forms clumps that hang off the surface on which the plant is growing. The pseudobulbs are small and partly hidden by brown, papery bracts. Each pseudobulb has a single fleshy, dark green leaf and a single star-shaped, cream-coloured or pale green flower with an orange labellum. It mainly grows on trees and rocks in rainforest and is endemic to Queensland.

<i>Bulbophyllum weinthalii</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum weinthalii, commonly known as the wax orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid that forms dense clumps on hoop pine. It has crowded pseudobulbs each with a single thin, leathery, dark green leaf and a single white, green or cream-coloured flower with red or purplish markings. It occurs from south-eastern Queensland to Dorrigo National Park in New South Wales.

Bulbophyllum windsorense, commonly known as the thread-tipped rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid that has small pseudobulbs partly hidden by brown, papery bracts. Each pseudobulb has a single fleshy, dark green, grooved leaf and one or two cream-coloured or greenish flowers. It mainly grows near the breezy tops of trees, especially Callitris macleayana trees and is endemic to tropical North Queensland.

<i>Bulbophyllum wolfei</i> Species of orchid

Bulbophyllum wolfei, commonly known as the fleshy snake orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with thin, creeping rhizomes, and flattened pseudobulbs each with a single thick, fleshy, dark green leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with dark red stripes. It mostly grows on rainforest trees in tropical North Queensland.

Dendrobium radiatum, commonly known as the brushbox feather orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has cylindrical pseudobulbs, up to three leathery, dark green leaves and up to eleven white flowers with purplish markings on the labellum.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bulbophyllum globuliforme". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 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. 427. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Approved Conservation Advice for Bulbophyllum globuliforme (Miniature Moss-orchid)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Hoop pine orchid". New South Wales Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  5. Weston, Peter H. "Bulbophyllum globuliforme". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  6. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Backhouse, Gary N. (2022). Guide to Native Orchids of NSW and ACT. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing. p. 16. ISBN   9781486313686.
  7. "Bulbophyllum globuliforme". APNI. Retrieved 7 December 2018.