''Diuris exitela'', commonly called the Mount Moffat doubletail, is a species of orchid which is endemic to central western Queensland. It has two linear leaves at its base, up to twelve bright yellow flowers with dark brown markings and grows on sandstone cliffs and ridges.

Description

''Diuris exitela'' is a tuberous, perennial

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 linear leaves long, wide and folded lengthwise. Between seven and twelve bright yellow flowers with dark brown markings, wide and leaning downwards are borne on a flowering stem tall. The dorsal sepal projects forward and is egg-shaped, long and wide and forms a hood over the rest of the flower. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, green and purple-brown, long, wide, turned downwards and usually crossed over each other. 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 held horizontally or droop with an elliptic blade long and wide on a green to purplish stalk long. The labellum is long and has three lobes. The centre lobe is egg-shaped, long and wide and the side lobes are linear, purplish-brown, about long and wide. There are two ridge-like calli about long near the base of the mid-line of the base of the labellum. Flowering occurs in September and October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Diuris exitela'' was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected on

Mount Moffat Mount Moffat is a mountain, high, standing northeast of Mount Ege in the Neptune Range, Pensacola Mountains, Antarctica. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey from surveys and U.S. Navy air photos from 1956 to 1966, and was name ...

and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. 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 ...

(''exitela'') is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''exitelos'' meaning "lessening", "fading" or "weakening", referring to the colour of the flowers which fades quickly from bright yellow to pale yellow as they age.

Distribution and habitat

The Mount Moffat doubletail grows mainly on sandstone cliffs and ridges but also between sandstone boulders in woodland and is found on Mount Moffat and in

Carnarvon Gorge Carnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland (Australia), 593 km northwest of Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, located in Carnarvon Natio ...

in central western Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10267387 exitela Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)