''Bulbophyllum weinthalii'', commonly known as the wax orchid,
is a species of
epiphytic orchid that forms dense clumps on hoop pine (''
Araucaria cunninghamii''). It has crowded
pseudobulbs each with a single thin, leathery, dark green leaf and a single white, green or cream-coloured flower with red or purplish markings. It occurs from south-eastern
Queensland to
Dorrigo National Park in
New South Wales.
Description
''Bulbophyllum weinthalii'' is an epiphytic
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 crowded pseudobulbs long, wide and covered with a white sheath. Each pseudobulb has a thin, leathery, dark green, narrow elliptic to egg-shaped leaf long and wide. There is a single white, green or cream-coloured flower with red or purplish markings, long and wide. The
sepals and
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 thick, fleshy and waxy. The
dorsal sepal is oblong to egg-shaped, long and wide. The
lateral sepals are triangular, long, wide and spread widely apart from each other. The petals are long, and curve inwards. The
labellum is about long, wide, thick and fleshy and curved with a groove along its midline. Flowering occurs from March to May.
Taxonomy and naming
''Bulbophyllum weinthalii'' was first formally described in 1933 by
Richard Sanders Rogers and the description was published in ''
'' from a specimen collected by "
Mr. F.A. Weinthal". 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 ...
(''weinthalii'') honours the collector of the
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
specimen.
There are two subspecies:
* ''Bulbophyllum weinthalii'' subsp. ''weinthalii'', commonly known as the blotched wax orchid
which has coloured spots and blotches on the flowers and has a more southerly distribution;
* ''Bulbophyllum weinthalii'' subsp. ''striatum'', the streaked wax orchid
which has coloured striations on the flowers, a more northerly distribution and grows at lower altitudes than the
autonym.
Distribution and habitat
The wax orchid grows on the scaly bark on the upper branches of hoop pine in rainforest between the
Kroombit Tops National Park in Queensland and the Dorrigo National Park in New South Wales. Subspecies ''striatum'' only occurs in the extreme north of the distribution.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulbophyllum Weinthalii
weinthalii
Orchids of New South Wales
Orchids of Queensland
Endemic orchids of Australia
Plants described in 1933