Caleana alcockii

Last updated

Alcock's duck orchid
Status DECF P2.svg
Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caleana
Species:
C. alcockii
Binomial name
Caleana alcockii
Synonyms [2]

Caleana alcockii, commonly known as Alcock's duck orchid [3] is a rare species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and is distinguished by its humped labellum and relatively late flowering period. It only occurs north of Geraldton.

Contents

Description

Caleana alcockii has a single smooth green or red leaf, 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long and 5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) wide. Usually only one greenish-yellow and red flower, about 20 mm (0.8 in) long and 10 mm (0.4 in) wide is borne on a thin, wiry stalk 80–160 mm (3–6 in) high. The dorsal sepal, lateral sepals and petals are narrow and hang downwards with the dorsal sepal pressed against the column which has broad wings, forming a bucket-like shape. About one-third of the outer part of the labellum is covered with glossy black glands or calli and the labellum has a prominent hump at its centre. Flowering occurs from September to October. [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Alcock's duck orchid was first formally described in 2006 by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown who gave it the name Paracaleana alcockii. The description was published in Australian Systematic Botany . [5] In 2014, based on molecular studies, Joseph Miller and Mark Clements transferred all the species previously in Paracaleana to Caleana so that the present species became Caleana alcockii. [1] [6] The specific epithet (alcockii) honours John Alcock who recognised the species as distinct. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Caleana alcockii grows with grasses or sedges in sandy soil in a small area north of the Murchison River in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region. [3] [4] [7]

Conservation

Caleana alcockii (as Paracaleana alcockii) is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife [7] meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations. [8]

Related Research Articles

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

Caleana, commonly known as duck orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae that is found in Australia and New Zealand. The Australian species are found in all states but have not been recorded in the Northern Territory. Duck orchids have a single leaf and one or a few, dull-coloured, inconspicuous flowers. Most species are found in Western Australia but one species occurs in eastern Australia and one occurs in eastern Australia and New Zealand. Orchids in this genus as well as the hammer orchids (Drakaea) are pollinated by male thynnid wasps.

<i>Caladenia pectinata</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Caladenia dimidia</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Caladenia dundasiae</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia dundasiae, commonly known as the Patricia's spider orchid and Dundas spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two, usually red flowers with thin, stiffly-held lateral sepals and petals.

Caladenia nobilis, commonly known as the noble spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and one or two large white flowers with a red-marked labellum.

<i>Cyanicula amplexans</i> Species of orchid

Cyanicula amplexans, commonly known as the dainty blue china orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a relatively broad leaf and one or two pale blue and white flowers. It is distinguished from the other two similar blue orchids by the sides of the labellum which curve over the column and almost touch. This species also has a more inland distribution than C. aperta and C. sericea.

<i>Cyanicula aperta</i> Species of orchid

Cyanicula aperta, commonly known as the western tiny blue china orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a relatively narrow leaf and a single bluish-mauve flower. It is distinguished from the other two similar blue orchids by the sides of the labellum which are erect but well-separated from the column. This species also has a more easterly distribution than C. amplexans and C. sericea.

<i>Caleana nigrita</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana nigrita, commonly known as the small duck orchid or flying duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is the most common of the flying duck orchids and has the widest distribution of the Western Australian species. It has a single smooth leaf and is distinguished from the others by its labellum which has a hump in the middle and calli covering two thirds of its outer end. Its dull colouration makes it difficult to find, especially in areas that are blackened by fire.

Microtis eremicola, commonly known as the desert mignonette orchid or dryland onion orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hollow, onion-like leaf and up to fifty small, dull green to greenish-yellow flowers. This onion orchid is common in soil pockets on granite outcrops in inland areas, mostly between Hyden and Balladonia.

<i>Caleana brockmanii</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana brockmanii, commonly known as Brockman's duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf, a single greenish yellow and red flower and is distinguished by its flat labellum, relatively late flowering period and calli only near the tip of the labellum. It is found south from Perth.

<i>Caleana triens</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana triens, commonly known as broad-billed duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and is distinguished by its flattened labellum with calli only near its tip and by its relatively early flowering period.

Caleana disjuncta, commonly known as the little duck orchid, is a species of orchid that is found in Western Australia but with a few disjunct populations in Victoria and South Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and a single greenish yellow and red flower with a flattened labellum, the calli only near its tip.

<i>Caleana dixonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana dixonii, commonly known as the sandplain duck orchid is a rare species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and a single greenish yellow and fawn-coloured flower. It is distinguished by its flattened labellum with calli only near the tip of the labellum and its preference for growing on sandplains.

<i>Caleana gracilicordata</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana gracilicordata, commonly known as the slender-leafed duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, late flowering duck orchid with a single small, smooth, heart-shaped leaf and a single greenish yellow and red flower. It usually grows in mossy places on granite outcrops.

<i>Caleana granitica</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana granitica, commonly known as the granite duck orchid is a species of orchid that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a species of duck orchid with a single smooth leaf and a single greenish yellow and red flower with the labellum held below the horizontal. It grows on a single granite outcrop near Armadale.

<i>Caleana hortiorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Caleana hortiorum, commonly known as Hort's duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf, a single greenish yellow and red flower and is distinguished by its long, narrow, slightly humped labellum, with calli on its outer half. It is found between Perth and Albany.

Caleana lyonsii, commonly known as the midget duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its single smooth narrow leaf which is usually withered by flowering time and its up to ten small, greenish flowers. It grows in harsh environments in disjunct populations between Kalbarri and Southern Cross and has the smallest flowers of its genus in Western Australia.

Caleana parvula, commonly known as the Esperance duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to a small area near Esperance in the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and usually only a single greenish yellow and red flower. It is distinguished by its small flower with the calli only on the outer one-fifth of the labellum. The only other Caleana species in Western Australia which is smaller is C. lyonsii.

Caleana terminalis, commonly known as smooth-billed duck orchid is a species of orchid endemic to a small area near the Murchison River in the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth leaf and usually only a single greenish yellow and red flower. It is distinguished by its slightly humped labellum, with calli only on its outer one fifth.

References

  1. 1 2 "Caleana alcockii". APNI. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  2. "Caleana alcockii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. 1 2 3 Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 254. ISBN   9780646562322.
  4. 1 2 3 Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 300. ISBN   9780980296457.
  5. "Paracaleana alcockii". APNI. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  6. Miller, Joseph T.; Clements, Mark A. (2014). "Molecular phylogenetic analyses of Drakaeinae: Diurideae (Orchidaceae) based on DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region". Australian Systematic Botany. 27 (1): 3–22. doi: 10.1071/SB13036 . Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Paracaleana alcockii". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 28 October 2019.