Wheat-leaf rope orchid | |
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Bulbophyllum shepherdii in the Bomaderry Creek Reserve | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
Tribe: | Dendrobieae |
Genus: | Bulbophyllum |
Species: | B. shepherdii |
Binomial name | |
Bulbophyllum shepherdii | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Bulbophyllum shepherdii, commonly known as the wheat-leaf rope orchid, [2] 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.
Bulbophyllum shepherdii is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with branching rhizomes forming a dense mat on the substrate. The pseudobulbs are more or less spherical but flattened 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) in diameter separated by 2–9 mm (0.08–0.4 in). Each pseudobulb has a grooved, stalkless, elliptic to egg-shaped leaf 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long and 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) wide with a channelled upper surface. A single white or cream-coloured flower with yellow tips, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.12 in) wide is borne on a flowering stem 5–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. The flowers do not open widely. The sepals and petals are fleshy, the sepals 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and the petals about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide. The labellum is reddish brown, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with smooth edges and a sharp bend near the middle. Flowering occurs from March to August. [2] [3]
The wheat-leaf rope orchid was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller who published the description in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae from a specimen collected by T.W. Shepherd. [4] [5] In 1870 Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach changed the name to Bulbophyllum shepherdii. [6] The specific epithet (shepherdii) honours Thomas William Shepherd who collected the type specimen. [7]
Bulbophyllum shepherdii grows on trees and rocks in rainforest and wet forest between Nambour in Queensland and Bega in New South Wales. [2] [3]
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 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 caldericola is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with inconspicuous, well-spaced pseudobulbs arranged along rhizomes which mostly hang from the surface on which they are growing. Each pseudobulb has a single, fleshy, channelled leaf and a single white flower with yellow tips. It grows on the trunks and larger branches of rainforest trees near the eastern border between New South Wales and Queensland.
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.
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.
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 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 smillieae, commonly known as the bottlebrush orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with large, spongy pseudobulbs, thin, bright green leaves which are shed after their first year and crowded flowers in a bottlebrush-like arrangement. The flowers are white, to cream-coloured or pink and the labellum has a shiny, dark green tip. This orchid species is found in some of the Torres Strait Islands, and through Cape York Peninsula to Townsville, Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea and eastern Indonesia.
Dendrobium moorei, commonly known as the drooping cane orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Lord Howe Island. It has cylindrical pseudobulbs, leathery, dark green leaves and between two and fifteen small, white drooping flowers that do not open widely.
Dendrobium agrostophyllum, the buttercup orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and has a creeping rhizome with well-spaced pseudobulbs. Each pseudobulb has up to twenty grass-like leaves, some of the leaves having flowering stems on the opposite side of the pseudobulb, each raceme with up to ten waxy, fragrant, bright yellow flowers. It grows in wet forest in coast areas of north Queensland, Australia.
Dendrobium baileyi, commonly known as the blotched gemini orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and has arching stems and flowering stems with one or two spidery, yellow flowers with dark purple spots emerging from leaf axis. It grows in tropical North Queensland, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Dendrobium fellowsii, commonly known as the native damsel orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and has upright pseudobulbs, up to five leaves and groups of up to five pale green or yellowish flowers with a deep purple labellum. It grows in tropical North Queensland.
Dendrobium lichenastrum, commonly known as the common button orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid endemic to far north Queensland. It has a creeping, branching rhizome surrounded by papery bracts, small egg-shaped to round, fleshy, dark green leaves and a single white, cream-coloured or pink flower with red stripes and an orange labellum.
Dendrobium monophyllum, commonly known as the lily-of-the-valley orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has pale green to yellowish pseudobulbs with one or two leaves, and between five and twenty bell-shaped yellow flowers. It grows in rainforest in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia.
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.
Plectorrhiza brevilabris, commonly known as the small tangle orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid endemic to Australia. It has many coarse, wiry roots, between three and nine bright green leaves and up to twenty green, star-shaped flowers with reddish brown markings and a white patch on the labellum. It grows in rainforest on trees, shrubs and occasionally on rocks and occurs on the near coastal ranges of eastern Queensland.
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.
Liparis angustilabris, commonly known as the twisted sphinx orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is endemic to northern Queensland. It is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with tapered pseudobulbs, each with a single linear leaf and up to thirty five pale green to yellowish flowers that have twisted sepals and petals. This orchid grows on trees and rocks in tropical North Queensland.