Prasophyllum pallidum

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Pale 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. pallidum
Binomial name
Prasophyllum pallidum

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 .

Contents

Description

Prasophyllum pallidum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single tube-shaped leaf 150–350 mm (6–10 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. Between fifteen and thirty five flowers are well-spaced along a flowering stem 70–100 mm (3–4 in) long which reaches to a height of 300–500 mm (10–20 in). The flowers are green or yellowish-green and as with others in the genus, are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The ovary is swollen, realively large compared to the rest of the flower and stands out from the flowering stem. The dorsal sepal is lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide and slightly dished. The lateral sepals are a similar length to the dorsal sepal but narrower and are free from each other. The petals are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and curve forwards. The labellum is wedge-shaped to egg-shaped, about 5 mm (0.2 in) long and 3 mm (0.1 in) wide and turns sharply upwards near its middle. The edges of the labellum are crinkled and there is a pale green, fleshy callus along the centre of the labellum, extending almost to its tip. Flowering occurs from September to November and is stimulated by earlier fires. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Prasophyllum pallidum was first formally described in 1930 by William Henry Nicholls and the description was published in The Victorian Naturalist from a specimen collected near Pomonal. [1] [5] The specific epithet (pallidum) is a Latin word meaning "ashen", "pale" or "wan". [6] Specimens collected in Victoria as P. pallidum are now included in P. roseum . [7]

Distribution and habitat

The pale leek orchid mostly grows in grassy forest from the Flinders Ranges to the Mount Lofty Ranges. [2] [3] [4]

Conservation

Prasophyllum pallidum is listed "Vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act and under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 . [3] [7]

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.

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.

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.

<i>Prasophyllum brownii</i> species of plant

Prasophyllum brownii, commonly known as the Christmas leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is one of the last of the genus in Western Australia to flower and has a tall flowering stem with up to eighty pale green and fawn-coloured flowers.

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 laxum, commonly known as the lax leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small region of South Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to twenty pale green, tan and lilac-coloured flowers. It was first collected in the 1960s in a location known as the Hundred of Koppio on the Eyre Peninsula but was not described until 2008 from a new collection in 2004.

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.

<i>Prasophyllum maccannii</i> species of plant

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 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. It was known from a single population of fifteen plants but has not been seen since 1933 and is now presumed extinct.

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.

Prasophyllum suaveolens, commonly known as the fragrant leek orchid, is a species of orchid species endemic to inland Victoria. It has a single bright green, tube-shaped leaf with a reddish base and up to twenty five green to yellowish-green flowers with red markings. The flowers are the smallest of any leek orchid found in Victoria.

<i>Prasophyllum subbisectum</i> species of plant

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.

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 spadiceum, commonly known as the brown lip leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single tube-shaped leaf and up to thirty pale green, brown and white flowers with a whitish labellum. It is a recently described plant, previously included with P. fitzgeraldii, but distinguished from that species by its smaller, paler flowers, whitish labellum and brown callus. It grows in the south-east of South Australia and in a single location in western Victoria.

Prasophyllum occidentale, commonly known as the plains leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single tubular leaf and up to twenty five small, pale yellowish-green flowers. It is found in South Australia and Victoria although regarded by some taxonomists as a South Australian endemic.

References

  1. 1 2 "Prasophyllum pallidum". APNI. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 217. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 3 "Approved conservation advice - Prasophyllum pallidum (pale leek-orchid)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Prasophyllum pallidum". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  5. Nicholls, William H. (1933). "Three species of the genus Prasophyllum". The Victorian Naturalist. 46 (1): 33–35. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 585.
  7. 1 2 "Prasophyllum pallidum". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 8 December 2017.