Oberonia carnosa

Oberonia carnosa, commonly known as the rockpile fairy orchid,[2] is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte. It has between four and six leaves in a fan-like arrangement and large numbers of tiny orange brown flowers arranged in whorls around the flowering stem.

Rockpile fairy orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Oberonia
Species:
O. carnosa
Binomial name
Oberonia carnosa
Lavarack[1]

Description

Oberonia carnosa is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with between four and six fleshy, light green leaves 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) long, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide and curved with their bases overlapping. A large number of orange to orange brown flowers about 1.7 mm (0.067 in) long and 1.0 mm (0.039 in) wide are arranged in whorls on an arching or hanging flowering stem 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) long. The flowering stem has whorls of tiny bracts near its base. The sepals and petals are egg-shaped and spread widely apart from each other, the petals with teeth on their edges and the sepals curved backwards. The labellum is about 1 mm (0.039 in) long and 0.6 mm (0.024 in) wide with three obscure lobes that often have teeth on the tip. Flowering occurs between February and June.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Oberonia carnosa was first formally described in 1977 by Bill Lavarack who published the description in the journal Austrobaileya from a specimen he collected from Tozer's Gap on Cape York Peninsula.[4] The specific epithet (carnosa) is a Latin word meaning "fleshy".[5]

Distribution and habitat

The rockpile fairy orchid grows on trees in sparse scrub in humid places and on trees and boulders in an area of large boulders known as "The Rockpiles". It is found between the Iron and McIlwraith Ranges.[2][3]

References
  1. "Oberonia carnosa". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 469–470. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. "Oberonia carnosa". Trin keys: Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. "Oberonia carnosa". APNI. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 336.
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