Oberonia rimachila

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Channelled fairy orchid
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Oberonia
Species:
O. rimachila
Binomial name
Oberonia rimachila

Oberonia rimachila, commonly known as the channelled fairy orchid, [2] is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte. It has between five and seven leaves in a fan-like arrangement on each shoot and a large number of pinkish flowers arranged in whorls of between eight and ten around the flowering stem. It is endemic to Queensland.

Contents

Description

Oberonia rimachila is an epiphytic or lithophytic, clump forming herb with between five and seven fleshy, sword-shaped, green to reddish leaves 50–70 mm (2.0–2.8 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide with their bases overlapping. A large number of pinkish or translucent, non-resupinate flowers about 1.6 mm (0.063 in) long and 1.4 mm (0.055 in) wide are arranged in whorls of between eight and ten on an arching or hanging flowering stem 50–140 mm (2.0–5.5 in) long. The sepals and petals are elliptic to egg-shaped, about 0.8 mm (0.031 in) long and 0.6 mm (0.024 in) wide. The labellum is about 1.0 mm (0.039 in) long and wide with three lobes. Flowering occurs between February and June. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Oberonia rimachila was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones and Mark Clements who published the description in Australian Orchid Research. The type specimen was collected from Mount Tozer in the Iron Range National Park. [5] The specific epithet (rimachila) is derived from the Latin word rima meaning "cleft" or "fissure" [6] :164 and the Ancient Greek word cheilos meaning "lip" or "rim", [6] :486 referring to the shape of the pit on the labellum. [4]

Distribution and habitat

The channelled fairy orchid usually grows on trees and rocks in rainforest, sometimes in other humid, sheltered places such as mangroves and coastal scrub. It is found between the Iron Range and Palmerston in Queensland. [2] [3] [4]

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<i>Goodyera umbrosa</i>

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<i>Robiquetia gracilistipes</i>

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<i>Robiquetia wassellii</i>

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<i>Sarcochilus ceciliae</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Schoenorchis micrantha</i> Species of orchid

Schoenorchis micrantha, commonly known as the tangled flea orchid, is a small epiphytic orchid that forms small, tangled clumps and has thin stems, many linear leaves and up to thirty small, white, bell-shaped flowers. It is found from Indochina to the south-west Pacific.

<i>Trachoma speciosum</i> Species of orchid

Trachoma speciosum, commonly known as the showy spectral orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that forms clumps with many thick, cord-like roots, between four and eight thick, leathery leaves and many short-lived, cream-coloured flowers with an orange and white labellum. This orchid occurs in tropical North Queensland.

<i>Trachoma stellatum</i> Species of orchid

Trachoma stellatum, commonly known as the starry spectral orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic clump-forming orchid with many thick roots. It has between three and eight thick, leathery leaves and many short-lived, cream-coloured flowers with purple markings and a yellow-tipped labellum. This orchid occurs in tropical North Queensland.

<i>Bryobium queenslandicum</i> Species of orchid

Bryobium queenslandicum, commonly known as the dingy urchin orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic clump-forming orchid that has cylindrical, fleshy green pseudobulbs, each with two leaves and between three and twelve small, self-pollinating, cream-coloured or pinkish flowers. This orchid only occurs in tropical North Queensland.

Liparis bracteata, commonly known as the yellow sphinx orchid, is a plant in the orchid family. It is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with cone-shaped pseudobulbs, each with two linear to lance-shaped leaves and between seven and twelve star-shaped pale green flowers that turn yellow as they age. This orchid grows on trees and rocks in rainforest in tropical North Queensland.

Oberonia attenuata, commonly known as the Mossman fairy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is a small epiphyte. It has between four and seven leaves in a fan-like arrangement and large numbers of tiny reddish brown flowers on a pendulous flowering stem. It is only known from Mossman Gorge. The species was first formally described in 1960 but no further observations of the species were made, and it was presumed extinct until 2015.

Oberonia carnosa, commonly known as the rockpile fairy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte. It has between four and six leaves in a fan-like arrangement and large numbers of tiny orange brown flowers arranged in whorls around the flowering stem.

<i>Oberonia complanata</i> Species of orchid

Oberonia complanata, commonly known as the southern green fairy orchid or yellow-flowered king of the fairies, is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte. It has between three and eight leaves in a fan-like arrangement on each shoot and up to three hundred tiny cream-coloured or greenish flowers arranged in whorls around the flowering stem. It is endemic to eastern Australia.

<i>Oberonia crateriformis</i> Species of orchid

Oberonia crateriformis, commonly known as the cratered fairy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte. It has between four and six leaves in a fan-like arrangement on each shoot and a large number of pale red flowers arranged in whorls of eight around the flowering stem. It is endemic to Queensland.

Oberonia flavescens, commonly known as the northern green fairy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte. It has between four and six leaves in a fan-like arrangement on each shoot and a large number of whitish to yellowish flowers arranged in whorls of between six and eight around the flowering stem. It is endemic to Queensland.

Octarrhena pusilla, commonly known as the wispy grub orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic plant in the orchid family. It has thin roots, usually only a single stem, between three and six fleshy, cylindrical leaves and up to twenty small, white to cream-coloured flowers. This orchid is endemic to tropical North Queensland.

Phreatia micrantha, commonly known as the native fan orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is an epiphyte or lithophyte with four to ten channelled leaves in a fan-like arrangement with their bases sheathing the stem. A large number of small white, cup-shaped flowers are arranged along a thin, wiry flowering stem. This orchid is native to areas between Papuasia and the western Pacific.

References

  1. "Oberonia rimachila". 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. pp. 470–471. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 "Oberonia rimachila". Trin keys: Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Jones, David L.; Clements, Mark A. (2006). "Fourteen new taxa of Orchidaceae from Northern and Eastern Australia and two new combinations from new Guinea". Australian Orchid Research. 5 (1): 11.
  5. "Oberonia rimachila". APNI. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.