Prasophyllum beatrix

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Marung leek orchid
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. beatrix
Binomial name
Prasophyllum beatrix

Prasophyllum beatrix, commonly known as the Marung leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to thirty five scented flowers with yellowish-green or purplish markings and is mainly confined to New South Wales.

Contents

Description

Prasophyllum beatrix is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single tube-shaped, dark green leaf up to 600 mm (20 in) long and 2–8 mm (0.08–0.3 in) wide at the base, with the free part up to 250 mm (10 in) long. Between eight and thirty five scented white flowers with yellowish-green or purplish markings are crowded along a robust flowering spike 50–120 mm (2–5 in) long. 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 lance-shaped to narrow egg-shaped, 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. The lateral sepals are a similar size to the dorsal sepal and are usually free each other. The petals are linear to lance-shaped and 10–14 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long. The labellum is white, 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, turns upwards at more than 90° and has crinkled edges. Flowering occurs from September to October. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Prasophyllum beatrix was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones and Dean Rouse from a specimen collected from the Buckingbong State Forest near Narrandera and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. [1] The specific epithet (beatrix) is a Latin word beatusmeaning "she that makes happy", [4] referring to "the pleasant feelings engendered when finding this species in its natural habitat'. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This leek orchid grows in grassy woodland in New South Wales but there is a single record from the Terrick Terrick National Park in Victoria. [3]

Related Research Articles

Prasophyllum correctum, commonly known as the gaping leek orchid or Bairnsdale leek orchid, is a species of orchid species endemic to a small region in Victoria. It has a single dark green, tube-shaped leaf and up to twenty strongly scented, yellowish-green flowers and is only known from railway reserves near Bairnsdale.

<i>Prasophyllum alpestre</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum alpestre, commonly known as the mauve leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to twenty five scented, white, purplish and green flowers. It grows in subalpine parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

<i>Prasophyllum montanum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum montanum, commonly known as the mountain leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to fifty scented, greenish to pinkish flowers. It grows in montane ecosystems at altitudes above 1,500 m (5,000 ft).

<i>Prasophyllum flavum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum flavum, commonly known as the yellow leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, green leaf with only a short free section and up to fifty scented, yellowish-green flowers.

Prasophyllum campestre, commonly known as the sandplain leek orchid, or inland leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, yellowish-green leaf and up to twenty greenish, strongly scented flowers with red, purplish, brown or white marks. It grows in the drier parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

<i>Prasophyllum odoratum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum odoratum, commonly known as the fragrant leek orchid, Rogers scented leek orchid or sweet leek orchid is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to fifty fragrant green and white flowers with reddish marks.

Prasophyllum barnettii, commonly known as the Anglesea leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular leaf and between twelve and thirty scented yellowish, reddish or brownish flowers and is only known from a small area in the south of the state.

Prasophyllum candidum, commonly known as the Kiandra leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, yellowish-green leaf and up to forty scented, bright white to greenish flowers. It grows in subalpine areas at altitudes above 1,000 m (3,000 ft) in New South Wales and Victoria although in the latter state it is considered to be a form of P. odoratum.

<i>Prasophyllum dossenum</i> Species of orchid

Prasophyllum dossenum is a species of orchid endemic to a small area of northern New South Wales. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to thirty scented pinkish-white and greenish-brown flowers crowded along an erect flowering stem. It is a rare orchid which grows in grassy places on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.

Prasophyllum litorale, commonly known as the coastal leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to forty flowers with red and green colouring and grows in sandhills near the sea.

Prasophyllum macrostachyum, commonly known as the laughing leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth, tube-shaped leaf and up to thirty yellowish-green and purple flowers. It is one of the few Western Australian leek orchids which is not stimulated by summer fires and also has an unusually long flowering period.

Prasophyllum milfordense is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to thirty greenish-brown, white and purplish flowers. It is a very rare orchid, only found in a single location with a population of around 240 plants.

Prasophyllum retroflexum, commonly known as the congested leek orchid or Kiandra leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small area near the border between New South Wales and Victoria, growing in subalpine herbfields. It has a single tubular leaf and up to forty densely-crowded, pale green flowers with pinkish markings.

<i>Prasophyllum viretrum</i> Species of orchid

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 fitzgeraldii, commonly known as FitzGerald's leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to thirty five green or reddish-brown flowers with a pink to purple labellum. It was previously thought to also occur in Victoria.

Prasophyllum roseum, commonly known as the pink lip leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to thirty greenish flowers with a pink labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its smaller, less crowded flowers, with more spreading lateral sepals and different labellum callus. It grows in the south-east of South Australia and in western Victoria.

Prasophyllum catenemum is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to twenty white and green to purplish flowers. It is only known from a small area of the coast of the state where it grows in shrubland which is often engulfed by unstable sand dunes.

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 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 beatrix". APNI. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Jones, David L. (2006). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 5: 144–145.
  3. 1 2 Walsh, Neville. "Prasophyllum beatrix". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - vicflora. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 447.