Bulbophyllum macphersonii

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Eyelash orchid
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Dendrobieae
Genus: Bulbophyllum
Species:
B. macphersonii
Binomial name
Bulbophyllum macphersonii
Synonyms [1]

Bulbophyllum macphersonii, commonly known as eyelash orchids, [2] 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.

Contents

Description

Bulbophyllum macphersonii is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb that forms dense clumps. It has a creeping rhizome and densely crowded, more or less spherical, dark green pseudobulbs 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long and about 10 mm (0.39 in) wide. There is a single variably shaped, dark green, channelled leaf 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide on the end of the pseudobulb. A single dark red to purplish red, sometimes pink, green or white flower, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and wide is borne on a thread-like flowering stem 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long. The dorsal sepal is narrow egg-shaped, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide. The lateral sepals are a similar length to the dorsal sepal but are about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and joined to each other. The petals spread widely and are about 4.5–7 mm (0.18–0.28 in) long and about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide. The labellum is 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and only about 0.5 mm (0.020 in) wide. It has a fringe of long, fine hairs and vibrates in the slightest breeze. Flowering occurs between March and August. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

The small eyelash orchid was first formally described in 1934 by Herman Rupp and the description was published in The Victorian Naturalist . [5] It had previously been described in 1884 by Frederick Manson Bailey, intending his description to be published in Robert D. Fitzgerald's book Australian Orchids . Fitzgerald died before the volume was published but it was later published by Arthur Stopps [6] and Henry Deane who considered the orchid to belong to the monotypic genus Osyricera. With Bailey's approval, the description was published as Osyricera purpurascens. In 1905, Johannes Jacobus Smith changed the name of Osyricera purpurascens to Bulbophyllum purpurascens, but that name had already been used for a different orchid and was therefore a nomen illegitimum. [7] The specific epithet (macphersonii) honours Ken MacPherson [8] who "rediscovered" the species in 1933. [7]

The names of two varieties of this orchid are accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families:

Distribution and habitat

Bulbophyllum newportii grows on trees, rocks and cliff faces in sheltered rainforest and open forest. It is found between the Cedar Bay National Park, the Atherton Tableland and Rockhampton. [2] [3] [4]

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.

<i>Dendrobium bigibbum</i> Species of orchid from Australia and New Guinea

Dendrobium bigibbum, commonly known as the Cooktown orchid or mauve butterfly orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has cylindrical pseudobulbs, each with between three and five green or purplish leaves and arching flowering stems with up to twenty, usually lilac-purple flowers. It occurs in tropical North Queensland, Australia and New Guinea.

<i>Dendrobium jonesii</i> Species of orchid

Dendrobium jonesii, commonly known as the oak orchid is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid endemic to far north Queensland. It has spindle-shaped pseudobulbs, up to seven thin, dark green leaves and up to thirty five crowded, star-like, fragrant cream-coloured or white flowers with purple markings on the labellum.

<i>Dendrobium tetragonum</i> Species of orchid

Dendrobium tetragonum, commonly known as the tree spider orchid, is a variable species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid endemic to eastern Australia. Tree spider orchids are unusual in having pendulous pseudobulbs that are thin and wiry near the base then expand into a fleshy, four-sided upper section before tapering at the tip. There are only a few thin but leathery leaves at the end of the pseudobulbs and up to five flowers on relatively short flowering stems. To allow for the variations in the species there are five subspecies and a variety, some with a unique common name.

Bulbophyllum bracteatum, commonly known as the blotched pineapple orchid, is a species of epiphytic or sometimes lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has crowded pseudobulbs, tough, pale green or yellowish leaves and up to twenty five cream-coloured to yellowish flowers with purplish or reddish blotches. It usually grows in the tops of rainforest trees.

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

Bulbophyllum elisae, commonly known as the pineapple orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has crowded, wrinkled, pale green or yellowish clump-forming pseudobulbs, stiff, pale green to yellowish leaves and between three and twelve pale green to dark green flowers with a dark red to purple labellum. It usually grows in the tops of rainforest trees, on cliff faces or boulders.

Bulbophyllum evasum, commonly known as the creeping brittle orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with creeping brittle rhizomes, small, stubby pseudobulbs and dark green, fleshy leaves. The flowers are small, pink to reddish with dark stripes and yellow tips, clustered on the end of a dark red flowering stem. This orchid grows in rainforest on tree trunks and branches as well as on rocks, in tropical North Queensland.

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

Bulbophyllum gadgarrense, commonly known as the tangled rope orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchid with small pseudobulbs hidden beneath purplish brown bracts, dark green, grooved leaves and small white flowers with orange or yellow tips. It grows on rainforest trees in tropical North Queensland.

Bulbophyllum johnsonii, commonly known as the yellow snake orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that has a thin, creeping rhizome with flattened pseudobulbs, each with a single tough, dark green leaf and a single bright yellow to orange flower on a thread-like stalk. It grows on trees, shrubs and rocks in and near rainforest in tropical North Queensland.

Bulbophyllum lageniforme, commonly known as the smooth strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to tropical North Queensland. It has flattened, pale green, grooved, clump-forming pseudobulbs, stiff, dark green leaves and up to four cream-coloured or pale green flowers with a pink labellum. It usually grows on shrubs, trees and rocks in highland rainforest.

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.

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

Bulbophyllum newportii, commonly known as the cupped strand orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to tropical North Queensland. It has widely spaced, oval or cone-shaped, light green pseudobulbs, a single stiff, dark green egg-shaped leaf and up to eight bell-shaped white, cream-coloured or greenish flowers with a long, narrow yellow labellum. It grows on trees and rocks, usually at moderate to high elevations.

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 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.

<i>Dendrobium taylorii</i> Species of orchid

Dendrobium taylorii, commonly known as the smooth burr orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to tropical North Queensland, Australia. It has a single leathery, dark green leaf on a cylindrical stem and one or two small white flowers. Unlike other burr orchids, this species is insect-pollinated. It grows in rainforest, mangroves and sheltered forests.

<i>Pomatocalpa macphersonii</i> Species of orchid

Pomatocalpa macphersonii, commonly known as the blotched bladder orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with thick, cord-like roots, between two and eight dark green, leathery leaves and up to thirty cup-shaped, yellow flowers with red blotches and a white labellum with red blotches. It usually grows on rainforest trees and is found in New Guinea and tropical North Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bulbophyllum macphersonii". 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. 423. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 "Blepharochilum macphersonii". Trin keys: Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Blepharochilum sladeanum". Trin keys: Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. "Bulbophyllum macphersonii". APNI. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. "Stopps, Arthur James (1833-1931)". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  7. 1 2 Rupp, Herman (1934). "A thrice-named orchid". The Victorian Naturalist. 51: 81–82. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  8. "MacPherson, Ken (1914 - 1995)". Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  9. "Bulbophyllum macphersonii var. macphersonii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  10. "Bulbophyllum macphersonii var. spathulatum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.