''Cymbidium canaliculatum'', commonly known as the channelled boat-lip orchid, tiger boat-lip orchid, native cymbidium or tiger orchid is a plant 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 flowerin ...

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

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 else ...

to Australia. It is a clump-forming epiphyte with large, greyish green

pseudobulb The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...

s, each with up to six curved, deeply channelled leaves and up to sixty fragrant, variably coloured flowers that often have spots and blotches and a white to cream-coloured labellum with red markings. This orchid usually grows in the forks or hollows of trees and is found from

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 ...

to the northern parts of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Description

''Cymbidium canaliculatum'' is an epiphytic, clump-forming herb with greyish green pseudobulbs long and wide. Each pseudobulb has between two and six rigid, fleshy, curved, deeply channelled leaves and wide. Between five and sixty flowers, long and wide are borne on a flowering stem long. The flowers are olive green, yellow, brown or purple often with spots, blotches or both. The

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 coine ...

s are long and wide and the petals are long and wide. The labellum is usually white with red or purple markings, long and wide with three lobes. The side lobes are erect and the middle lobe curves downwards with a warty or hairy upper surface and two ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs between September and October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Cymbidium canaliculatum'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who published the description in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

''. The specific epithet (''canaliculatum'') is derived from the

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 ''canaliculus'' meaning "canal" or "channel".

Distribution and habitat

The channelled boat-lip orchid grows in the forks or hollows of trees in woodlands and drier forests in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the northern parts of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

, (including Melville Island) and from the

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

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 , establishe ...

south to the Hunter River in New South Wales.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1308915 canaliculatum Plants described in 1810 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Queensland Orchids of the Northern Territory Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Western Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)