''Acianthus fornicatus'', commonly known as pixie cap, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Orchidaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in Australia. It is a terrestrial

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with a single, heart-shaped leaf and up to ten

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions a ...

pinkish-red flowers and which is widespread and common in coastal and near-coastal areas.

Description

''Acianthus fornicatus'' is a terrestrial,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, sympodial herb with a single heart-shaped, glabrous, dark green leaf which is reddish-purple on its lower surface. The leaf is long, wide on a stalk high. There are up to ten flowers, well-spaced on a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

tall, each flower long and translucent, pinkish-red with a green, sometimes blackish labellum. The dorsal

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

is broadly egg-shaped, long, wide and forms a hood over the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

. The lateral sepals are long, long wide with tips long and may be crossed or parallel to each other. The petals are about long and spread widely. The labellum is green, rarely blackish, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, with the outer edges turned under. When flattened, it is heart-shaped, long, . There is a thick, fleshy callus covering most of the central area and many small pimple-like papillae on the outer half. Flowering occurs between May and August. Orchid underleaf Chatswood probably Acianthus fornicatus

Orchid underleaf Chatswood probably Acianthus fornicatus

This species is distinguished from others in the genus by its largish, projecting flowers, usually pinkish colouring, and broad dorsal sepal and labellum.

Taxonomy and naming

''Acianthus fornicatus'' was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1810 and the description was published in '' Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''fornicatus'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "vaulted" or "arched".

Distribution and habitat

This mosquito orchid is widespread and common in coastal and near-coastal areas in heathy forest and coastal scrub, growing in well-drained sandy loam. It occurs in Queensland and in New South Wales as far south as Eden.

Conservation

''Acianthus fornicatus'' is not threatened in New South Wales, but is classified as threatened in Victoria, where it is found only on Gabo Island.VicFlora: ''Acianthus fornicatus''
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References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4674020

fornicatus ''Fornicatus'' is an extinct genus of ground shark from the Early Cretaceous age of Austria. There is only one known species, ''F. austriacus'', named by Iris Fuchs in 2018. It was related to ''Altusmirus''. References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4 ...

Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Queensland Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1810