Diuris abbreviata

Diuris abbreviata, commonly known as the lemon doubletail, is a species of orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has two or three leaves and a flowering stem with up to nine yellow flowers with darker markings.

Diuris abbreviata habit

Lemon doubletail
Diuris abbreviata growing near Guyra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Diuris
Species:
D. abbreviata
Binomial name
Diuris abbreviata
Synonyms[1]
  • Diuris rhomboidalis Rupp
  • Diuris althoferi Rupp
  • Diuris cucullata Rupp
  • Diuris citrina Nicholls

Description

Diuris abbreviata is a tuberous, perennial herb with two or three linear leaves 120–250 mm (5–10 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide and folded in half lengthwise. There are between three and nine pale to bright yellow flowers with darker markings which lean forwards and are about 25 mm (1 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long, 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide and more or less erect. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, 11–16 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long, 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) wide, and turn downwards. The petals are erect, ear-like above the flower, 7–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 4.5–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide on a brownish, stalk-like "claw" 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. The labellum is 7–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and has three lobes. The centre lobe is broad egg-shaped, about 8 mm (0.3 in) wide with a ridge along its mid-line. The lateral lobes are narrow linear to triangular in shape, 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and 1–1.5 mm (0.04–0.06 in) wide. There are two ridge-like calli about 5 mm (0.2 in) long near the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to November.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Diuris abbreviata was first formally described in 1873 by George Bentham from a previously unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller and Bentham's description was published in Flora Australiensis.[3][4] The specific epithet (abbreviata) is a Latin word meaning "shortened".[5]

Distribution and habitat

The lemon doubletail grows in forest and grassland on the ranges and tablelands of New South Wales north of Barrington Tops to south-east Queensland.[2]

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References
  1. "Diuris abbreviata". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. "Diuris abbreviata". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantNET. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  3. "Duiris abbreviata". APNI. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. Bentham, George (1873). Flora Australiensis (Volume 6). London: Lovell, Reeve & Co. p. 329. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 63.
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