Prasophyllum morganii

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Cobungra leek orchid
Prasophyllum morganii.jpg
Illustration by Nicholls from
The Victorian Naturalist [1]
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. morganii
Binomial name
Prasophyllum morganii

Prasophyllum morganii, commonly known as the Cobungra leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in Victoria. It has a single tubular leaf and up to eighty greenish flowers with purplish markings. Before being rediscovered in 2020, the plant had last been seen in 1933 and was presumed extinct.

Contents

Description

Prasophyllum morganii is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single tube-shaped leaf up to 160 mm (6 in) long and 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. Between fifty and eighty scented, widely-opening flowers are crowded along flowering stem 40–100 mm (2–4 in) long which reaches to a height of 100–250 mm (4–10 in). The flowers are greenish with purple markings and as with others in the genus, are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The ovary is oval-shaped and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. The dorsal sepal is broadly egg-shaped, green and 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and the lateral sepals are a similar length but narrower and are free from each other. The petals are similar in size to the lateral sepals and curve forwards. The labellum is heart-shaped, purplish or pink, up to 4 mm (0.2 in) long and turns upwards. There is a deep purplish, triangular callus with a V-shaped ridge along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs in October and November. [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Prasophyllum morganii was first formally described in 1930 by William Henry Nicholls and the description was published in The Victorian Naturalist from a specimen collected near Cobungra. [2] [5]

Distribution and habitat

The Cobungra leek orchid was only known from a single location on private property, growing in open snow gum ( Eucalyptus pauciflora ) forest at altitudes of over 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Fewer than fifteen plants were known but no plants had been seen since 1933 despite extensive searches in the area. [3] [4]

In 2000, an orchid similar to P. morganii was collected from Kosciuszko National Park was described by David Jones in the journal The Orchadian and given the name Prasophyllum retroflexum , otherwise known as the Kiandra leek orchid. In 2020, following the Black Summer bushfires, plants collected from north-eastern Victoria and south-western New South Wales were compared with each other, and with herbarium specimens of P. morganii. The study in the journal Phytotaxa concluded that there were no significant differences between the plants collected and the herbarium specimens. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Conservation

Prasophyllum morganii is listed as "vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act and is listed as "extinct" in the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 . [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

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

Prasophyllum sargentii, commonly known as the frilled leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall orchid with a single smooth, tubular leaf and up to thirty or more purplish and white or golden brown and white flowers with a frilled labellum.

Prasophyllum pyriforme, commonly known as the graceful leek orchid is a species of orchid species endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to fifty greenish flowers with a pink or white labellum. As with others in the genus, the labellum is above the column rather than below it.

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

Prasophyllum petilum, commonly known as the Tarengo leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to eighteen pinkish mauve to greenish flowers, well-spaced along a slender flowering stem. It is a small orchid, difficult to locate, generally growing in taller grasses.

<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).

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.

Prasophyllum concinnum, commonly known as the trim leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular leaf and green or yellowish-green flowers with brown markings. It was not seen after 1947, presumed to have gone extinct and listed as "rare" under the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 but was rediscovered in 1992. Flowering of this orchid is dramatically stimulated by summer fires and the species is now known to be widespread in the state and has been removed from the Act.

Prasophyllum brevilabre, commonly known as the Gorae leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to south-western Victoria. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to forty greenish-brown flowers with reddish markings. It is a very rare orchid, now only known from two small, scattered populations. It was first recorded from Gorae West near Portland but is no longer found there.

<i>Prasophyllum frenchii</i> Species of plant

Prasophyllum frenchii, commonly known as the maroon leek orchid or swamp leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to sixty five green, reddish-brown or red flowers. Formerly more widespread, it is now confined to seven populations containing a total of fewer than 1,000 plants.

Prasophyllum gilgai, commonly known as the gilgai leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to twenty greenish brown, light brown, pink or white flowers. It is a very rare orchid with a population of fewer than fifty plants in a small area in the north of the state.

Prasophyllum gracillimum, commonly known as the slender leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small region of Western Australia. It has a single tubular green leaf, and green, brown and white flowers loosely arranged along the flowering stem. This species has not been seen for more than fifty years and is considered by some botanists to be a form of P. fimbria.

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.

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

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 pallidum, commonly known as the pale leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a south-eastern South Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to thirty green or yellowish-green flowers. It was previously thought to occur in Victoria but records from that state are now recognised as P. roseum.

Prasophyllum parviflorum, commonly known as the slender leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Victoria. It has a single tubular leaf and up to thirty greenish-brown to purplish flowers. Further studies of the species may indicate that some collections currently included may be of a different species.

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.

Prasophyllum robustum, commonly known as the robust leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to thirty greenish-brown flowers with a white labellum. It is only known from a single population of about fifty plants, its numbers having been reduced by land clearing.

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

Prasophyllum subbisectum, commonly known as the Pomonal leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a single, thin tubular leaf and up to fifteen small, greenish-brown to brown flowers well-spaced along a thin flowering stem. It is only known from a small area around Stawell.

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

Prasophyllum suttonii, commonly known as the mauve leek orchid, Mount Buffalo leek orchid or Buffalo leek-orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the Australian Alps. Some authorities list the species as being a Victorian endemic now extinct whilst others list is as occurring in New South Wales and extant. Descriptions of the species also differ. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to thirty five white flowers with purple or mauve marks.

Prasophyllum truncatum, commonly known as the truncate leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to twenty whitish flowers with purplish and greenish-brown markings. It is a late-flowering leek orchid and its flowering is stimulated by earlier fire.

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

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.

References

  1. Nicholls, William H. (1930). "A new Prasophyllum". The Victorian Naturalist. 46 (9). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Prasophyllum morganii". APNI. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Jeanes, Jeff. "Prasophyllum morganii". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Conservation advice - Prasophyllum morganii (Cobungra leek-orchid)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  5. Nicholls, William H. (1930). "A new Prasophyllum". The Victorian Naturalist. 46 (9): 179–180. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. Ayre, Bronwyn M.; Hayashi, Tobias; Phillips, Ryan D.; Reiter, Noushka (14 December 2021). "The Kiandra leek orchid is the previously presumed extinct mignonette leek orchid (Orchidaceae; Orchidoideae): evidence from morphological comparisons". Phytotaxa. 528 (2): 71–83. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.528.2.1.
  7. Klein, Alice (13 April 2022). "Rediscovered orchid was presumed extinct for almost a century". New Scientist. New Scientist Ltd. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. Perkins, Miki (1 April 2022). "Victorian orchid's supposed extinction a case of mistaken identity". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Family. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  9. Anderson, Natali (13 April 2022). "Orchid Species Missing for 89 Years Rediscovered in Australia". SciNews. Retrieved 27 May 2022.