''Bryobium dischorense'', commonly known as the spotted urchin orchid, is an

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

lithophytic Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...

clump-forming

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 ...

that has fleshy, oval

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 a single thin leaf and between four and eight cup-shaped, cream-coloured or whitish flowers with red spots. This orchid occurs in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

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_ ...

Description

''Bryobium dischorense'' is an epiphytic or lithophytic

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 ...

that forms dense clumps with oval shaped pseudobulbs long and wide covered with papery brown

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s when young. Each pseudobulb has a thin, but tough narrow oblong to egg-shaped leaf long and wide. Between four and eight cream-coloured or whitish, cup-shaped flowers with a few red spots, long and wide are arranged on a flowering stem long. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

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 long and about wide, the

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

sepals a similar length but wide. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are long and about wide. The labellum is erect and curved, about long and wide with three lobes. The side lobes are large and erect and the middle lobe is short and turns downwards. Flowering occurs from October to December.

Taxonomy and naming

The spotted urchin orchid was first formally described in 1912 by

Rudolf Schlechter Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America and ...

who gave it the name ''Eria dischorensis'' and published the description in ''Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis Beihefte''. In 2002 Mark Clements and David Jones changed the name to ''Bryobium dischorense''. 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 ...

(''dischorense'') refers to the type location, which Schlechter referred to as the Dischore Range, now known as the Bowutu Range. The ending ''-ense'' being 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 ...

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

meaning "denoting place", "locality" or "country".

Distribution and habitat

''Bryobium dischorense'' usually grows on rainforest trees. It is found in New Guinea and in the

Whitfield Range Whitfield may refer to: Places Australia * Whitfield, Queensland, a suburb of Cairns * Whitfield, Victoria, an agricultural township England * Whitfield, Derbyshire, a hamlet and former parish * Whitfield, Gloucestershire, a hamlet * Whitfie ...

in Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15494805 dischorense Orchids of New Guinea Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1912