Prasophyllum holzingeri

Prasophyllum holzingeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Orchidoideae
Tribe:	Diurideae
Subtribe:	Prasophyllinae
Genus:	Prasophyllum
Species:	P. holzingeri
Binomial name
	Prasophyllum holzingeri; D.L.Jones & L.M.Copel. [1]

Last updated June 20, 2019

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.

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Barrington Tops is part of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales between Gloucester and Scone.

Description

Prasophyllum holzingeri is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single shiny, dark green, tube-shaped leaf, 300–450 mm (10–20 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide with a purplish base. Between eight and fifteen flowers are crowded along a flowering spike 80–150 mm (3–6 in) long, reaching to a height of up to 300 mm (10 in). The flowers are unscented, greenish to brownish pink. 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 egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide and has three to five darker veins and a pointed tip. 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 fused to each other when the flower first opens. The petals are white with a red central line, linear, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The labellum is white, oblong to elliptic, 8.5–9.5 mm (0.33–0.37 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide and turns sharply upwards through more than 90°. The edges of upturned part of the labellum are wavy and there is an oblong yellow or greenish yellow callus with a dark green base in the centre of the labellum and extending well past the bend. Flowering occurs between late January and early March.^[2]

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. Some sources cite perennial plants being plants that live more than three years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.

In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit.

Herbaceous plants in botany, frequently shortened to herbs, are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. Herb has other meanings in cooking, medicine, and other fields. Herbaceous plants are those plants that do not have woody stems, they include many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials, they include both forbs and graminoids.

Taxonomy and naming

Prasophyllum holzingeri was first formally described in 2018 by David Jones and Lachlan Copeland from a specimen collected in the Barrington Tops State Conservation Area and the description was published in Australian Orchid Review.^[1] The specific epithet (holzingeri) honours "William (Bill) Holzinger".^[2]

David Lloyd Jones is an Australian horticultural botanist and the author of a large number of books and papers, especially on Australian orchids.

Lachlan Mackenzie Copeland( 1973 -) is an Australian botanist, who obtained his M.Sc. at the University of New England., with a thesis entitled Systematic studies in Homoranthus.

Barrington Tops State Conservation Area is a protected area in the Australian state of New South Wales in the Barrington Tops region. It was previously known as the Polblue and Barrington Tops Crown Reserves. The conservation area was created in January 2003. It covers an area of 8,446 hectares. Unlike the adjacent national park mining is allowed in a State Conservation Area. Zircon, sapphire and rubies were formed from the nearby Barrington Volcano in the Eocene epoch.

Distribution and habitat

This leek orchid grows in woodland with dense tussocks of snow grass at altitudes of about 1,400 m (5,000 ft) in the Barrington Tops area.^[2]

Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens.

Poa sieberiana, commonly known as grey tussock-grass and snow grass, is a species of tussock grass that is endemic to Australia.

Related Research Articles

Prasophyllum wilkinsoniorum is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a single tubular, bright green leaf and up to forty five scented, dark greenish-brown to brownish-red flowers with a green to pinkish labellum. It grows in grassy places in a restricted area on the Southern Tablelands.

Prasophyllum caricetum, commonly known as the Cathcart leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small area of southern New South Wales. It has a single tubular, bright green leaf and up to twenty five green, white and purplish flowers crowded on the flowering stem. It grows in montane swamps near Cathcart.

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 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 incurvum is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, bright green leaf and up to forty brownish-green, white and purplish flowers. It is similar to P. alpestre but has larger flowers and petals which curve forwards.

Prasophyllum occultans, commonly known as the hidden leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern Australia. It has a single, smooth, tube-shaped leaf with a reddish-purple base and up to ten greenish flowers. It is a rare species found only in a few locations in South Australia and in far western Victoria.

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.

Prasophyllum tunbridgense, commonly known as the Tunbridge leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, bright green leaf and up to twenty five relatively large, green to light greenish-brown flowers with white petals and a large white labellum.

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 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 nitidum, commonly known as the shining leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to twenty maroon, magenta or purple and green flowers with a pale purple to maroon labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its shorter flower spike, glossy flowers and shining, raised labellum callus. It grows in the south-east of South Australia and in a single location in western Victoria.

Prasophyllum crassum is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to fifteen greenish and pinkish-brown flowers with a whitish labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its smaller number of smaller, less colourful flowers and different labellum shape. It grows in the south-east of the state and usually only appears after fire.

Prasophyllum tortilis is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to ten purplish-brown and green flowers with a purple labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its smaller number of smaller, more darkly coloured, short-lived flowers. It also resembles P. goldsackii but has fleshier flowers than that species.

Prasophyllum stygium, commonly known as the elfin leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to twenty greenish-brown flowers with a white labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its greenish-brown flowers with their white labellum and narrower brown callus. It is only known from a single population of about thirty plants.

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 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.

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 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 2 "Prasophyllum holzingeri". APNI. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
1 2 3 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): 46–47.

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[APNI-1] 1 2 "Prasophyllum holzingeri". APNI. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

[AOR-2] 1 2 3 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): 46–47.