Genoplesium confertum

Genoplesium confertum, commonly known as the crowded midge orchid, is a small terrestrial orchid endemic to the south-east of Queensland. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to sixty small, densely crowded, reddish and green flowers and grows in coastal heath.

Crowded midge orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Genoplesium
Species:
G. confertum
Binomial name
Genoplesium confertum
Synonyms[1]

Description

Genoplesium confertum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin leaf 100–160 mm (4–6 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and fused to the flowering stem with the free part 11–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. Between ten and sixty flowers are densely crowded along a flowering stem 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) tall and slightly taller than the leaf. The flowers lean forwards, are reddish with green tips, 3.5 mm (0.14 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide. The flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is pinkish red, broadly egg-shaped, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, 4 mm (0.2 in) long, 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide, spread apart from each other and have a small whitish gland on their tip. The petals are lance-shaped to egg-shaped, blackish red, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and 11 mm (0.4 in) wide with a prominent gland on their tips. The labellum is dark red, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, with small teeth on the sides. There is a thick, fleshy callus in the centre of the labellum, covering about half of its surface and extending almost to its tip. Flowering occurs between February and May.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Genoplesium confertum was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near the road to Rainbow Beach in the Great Sandy National Park and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[4] In 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to Corunastylis conferta.[5] The specific epithet (conferta) is a Latin word meaning "crowded",[6] referring to the crowded flowers in this species.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Genoplesium confertum grows in heath on stabilised sand dunes in coastal districts between Fraser Island and Runaway Bay, including the Great Sandy National Park.[2][3]

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References
  1. "Genoplesium confertum". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. (1991). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 2: 68.
  3. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 188. ISBN 1877069124.
  4. "Genoplesium confertum". APNI. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  5. "Genoplesium confertum". APNI. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 227.
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