Prasophyllum basalticum

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Prasophyllum basalticum
Prasophyllum basalticum flowering stem.jpg
Prasophyllum basalticum flowers
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Subtribe: Prasophyllinae
Genus: Prasophyllum
Species:
P. basalticum
Binomial name
Prasophyllum basalticum

Prasophyllum basalticum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to fifteen scented, greenish-brown to brownish-red flowers with a white and green labellum. It grows in grassy woodland on the Northern Tablelands.

Contents

Prasophyllum basalticum whole plant Prasophyllum basalticum whole palnt.jpg
Prasophyllum basalticum whole plant

Description

Prasophyllum basalticum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single dark green, tube-shaped leaf, 200–350 mm (8–10 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide with a purplish base. Between five and fifteen flowers are arranged along a flowering spike 70–150 mm (3–6 in) high. The flowers are greenish-brown to brownish-red and sweetly scented. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is narrow egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide and has three fine dark veins. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and curved. The petals are white with a reddish line along the centre, linear to narrow lance-shaped, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The labellum is white, oblong, 8.5–10.5 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide and turns sharply upwards and backwards. There is an egg-shaped green callus in the centre of the labellum, extending to slightly past the bend. Flowering occurs in November and December. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Prasophyllum basalticum was first formally described in 2018 by David Jones and Lachlan Copeland from a specimen collected in Werrikimbe National Park and the description was published in Australian Orchid Review. [1] The specific epithet (basalticum) is derived from the Latin word basaltes meaning "basalt", [3] referring to the soils of basaltic origin in which this species usually grows. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This leek orchid grows in grassy woodland at altitudes of between 700 and 1,550 m (2,000 and 5,000 ft) in the Barrington Tops, Ebor and Dorrigo districts.

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<i>Prasophyllum wilkinsoniorum</i>

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<i>Prasophyllum canaliculatum</i>

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<i>Prasophyllum dossenum</i>

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Prasophyllum erythrocommum, commonly known as the tan leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to thirty small, greenish-brown to dark brown flowers. It is a very rare orchid, only known from a single small area north of Melbourne.

Prasophyllum hygrophilum, commonly known as the swamp leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to thirty greenish brown, pink or mauve flowers. It is a rare orchid only known from two populations and is classified as "endangered" in Victoria.

Prasophyllum incompositum is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to thirty scented, greenish-brown and white flowers. It has only been recorded from the Carnarvon National Park.

Prasophyllum incorrectum, commonly known as the golfer's leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to twenty scented, yellowish-green and reddish-brown flowers. The largest population occurs on a golf course.

<i>Prasophyllum maccannii</i>

Prasophyllum maccannii, commonly known as the inland leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to forty green, greenish-pink or brownish flowers. It is found in the central-west of the state, growing in open forest.

Prasophyllum niphopedium, commonly known as the marsh leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in Victoria. It has a single tubular leaf and up to twenty greenish flowers with reddish markings. It is only known from five population on grassy alpine plains with the total number of individual plants less than five hundred.

Prasophyllum stellatum, commonly known as the Ben Lomond leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to twenty greenish-brown to brownish flowers with a white labellum. It is only known from two disjunct populations, at Ben Lomond and near Deloraine.

<i>Prasophyllum viretrum</i>

Prasophyllum viretrum is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to thirty five scented, greenish-brown to brownish flowers and is only known from a few small populations in south-western Victoria.

Prasophyllum collinum is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to thirty lemon-scented, greenish brown and white flowers. It is only known from the Eyre Peninsula where it grows in sparse woodland.

Prasophyllum brevisepalum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to thirty five scented, yellowish to brownish green and white flowers. It is only known from a single population growing in woodland near Inverell.

Prasophyllum graniticola is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to twenty five scented, greenish to brownish and white flowers. It is only known from two populations on the Northern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum holzingeri is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to fifteen unscented, greenish to brownish pink and white flowers. It is only known from a few populations in the Barrington Tops area.

Prasophyllum pictum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to twenty two scented brown, pink, purple and white flowers. It is only known from three subpopulations on the Northern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum pilligaense is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, shiny dark green leaf and up to thirty scented greenish brown to brownish and white flowers. It is only known from a few populations in the Coonabarabran district.

References

  1. 1 2 "Prasophyllum basalticum". APNI. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Jones, David L.; Copeland, Lachlan M. (2018). "Six new species of Prasophyllum R.Br. in the Prasophyllum patens R.Br. /Prasophyllum odoratum R.S.Rogers complex from northern New South Wales". Australian Orchid Review. 83 (1): 39–41.
  3. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 124.

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