Gastrodia lacista

Gastrodia lacista, commonly known as the western potato orchid,[2] is a leafless terrestrial mycotrophic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has a thin brown flowering stem with up to fifty small, drooping, fawn and white, tube-shaped flowers. It grows in forest and woodland in the south-west of Western Australia.

Western potato orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Gastrodieae
Genus: Gastrodia
Species:
G. lacista
Binomial name
Gastrodia lacista

Description

Gastrodia lacista is a leafless terrestrial, mycotrophic herb that has a thin, brown crook-like flowering stem bearing between five and fifty drooping, fawn and white, tube-shaped flowers that are warty outside and white inside. The sepals and petals are joined, forming a tube 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. The petals have a few blunt teeth on the edges. The labellum is 9–10 mm (0.4–0.4 in) long, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide and white with irregular edges. Flowering occurs from November to January.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Gastrodia lacista was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Albany in 1989. The description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[6] The specific epithet (lacista) is a Latin word meaning "torn"[7] referring to the edges of the labellum.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The western potato orchid grows in woodland and forest in leaf litter between Bunbury and Albany.[2][3][4][5][8]

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References
  1. "Gastrodia lacista". 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. 371–372. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. David L., Jones (1991). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 2: 64.
  4. Brown, Andrew; Dixon, Kingsley; French, Christopher; Brockman, Garry (2013). Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia. Simon Nevill Publications. pp. 266–267. ISBN 9780980348149.
  5. Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. pp. 384–385. ISBN 9780646562322.
  6. "Gastrodia lacista". APNI. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 784.
  8. "Gastrodia lacista". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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