''Bulbophyllum elisae'', commonly known as the pineapple orchid, is a species of epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has crowded, wrinkled, pale green or yellowish clump-forming pseudobulbs, stiff, pale green to yellowish leaves and between three and twelve pale green to dark green flowers with a dark red to purple labellum. It usually grows in the tops of rainforest trees, on cliff faces or boulders.

Description

''Bulbophyllum elisae'' 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 ...

with crowded, wrinkled and grooved, pale green or yellowish pseudobulbs long and wide. The leaves are narrow oblong to lance-shaped, thin, leathery, flat, long and wide. Between three and twelve pale green to dark green flowers long and wide are arranged on one side of a thin flowering stem long. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, long and about wide, but the lateral sepals are much longer at long and 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 about long and wide. The labellum is purple, fleshy, about long and wide. Flowering occurs between May and November.

Taxonomy and naming

The pineapple orchid was first formally described in 1868 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

who gave it the name ''Cirrhopetalum elisae'' and published the description in the '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' from a specimen collected near Tenterfield. In 1873, George Bentham changed the name to ''Bulbophyllum elisae''. 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 ...

(''elisae'') honours Eliza Kern.

Distribution and habitat

''Bulbophyllum elisae'' grows on the highest branches of rainforest trees, sometimes on cliff faces and boulders. It occurs between the Bunya Mountains in Queensland and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulbophyllum Elisae elisae Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Queensland Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1871 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller