''Chiloglottis × pescottiana'', commonly known as the bronze bird orchid, is a species of

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 ...

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 ...

to south-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 two broad leaves and a single greenish bronze or purplish brown flower with a black, ant-like callus on the labellum. It is a natural

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

formed from a cross between ''

Chiloglottis valida ''Chiloglottis valida'', commonly known as the large bird orchid or common bird orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia.It has two dark green leaves and a single greenish purple to purplish brown flower with six to ten bl ...

'' and '' C. trapeziformis''.

Description

''Chiloglottis × pescottiana'' 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 ...

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 two broadly elliptic to egg-shaped leaves long and wide. A single greenish bronze or purplish brown flower long and wide is borne on a flowering stem high. 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 spatula-shaped or egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and about wide. The lateral sepals are narrow lance-shaped, long, about wide and erect at the base then curve downwards and away from each other. There is a glandular tip about long on the tip of the dorsal sepal and long on the lateral sepals. 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 narrow lance-shaped, long, wide and spread apart from each other. The labellum is elliptic to egg-shaped, long and wide with a black, ant-like callus with a large stalked "head"

gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

in the lower part. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy and naming

The bronze bird orchid was first formally described in 1918 by Richard Sanders Rogers who gave it the name ''Chiloglottis pescottiana'' and the description was published in '' Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria'' from a specimen collected near Tallangatta. 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 ...

(''pescottiana'') honours "Mr. E. E. Pescott" who sent Rogers 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 ...

specimens. In 1997 the hybrid origin of this orchid was confirmed.

Distribution and habitat

''Chiloglottis × pescottiana'' grows in open forest and coastal scrub mostly in eastern Victoria but also in the far south-east of

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiloglottis x pescottiana pescottiana Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1877 Orchid hybrids