''Diuris jonesii'', commonly known as Dunsborough donkey orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has large, yellow, brown and mauve flowers and is found in near-coastal areas between Dunsborough and Augusta. Diuris jonesii habit

Description

''Diuris jonesii'' 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 ...

, usually growing to a height of . Two or three leaves emerge at the base, each leaf long and wide. There are between two and eight yellow, mauve and brown flowers long and wide. The dorsal sepal is erect and the lateral sepals are narrow and hang downwards or sometimes cross 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 elongated and the labellum has spreading lateral lobes and a broad, flattened or folded centre lobe. The species is similar to the giant donkey orchid, '' D. amplissima'' but has smaller, less colourful flowers and a more coastal distribution. Flowering occurs from late September to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Diuris jonesii'' was first formally described in 2013 by

Christopher French Christopher French could refer to: *Christopher French (theologian) (fl. c. 1650–c.1713), Irish professor of divinity *Chris French (Christopher Charles French) (born 1956), British psychologist *Christopher French (judge) (1925–2003), British ...

and

Garry Brockman Garry may refer to: Names *Gary (given name) or Garry * Garry (surname) Places *Cape Garry, South Shetlands * Fort Garry, Winnipeg, a district in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Garry Lake, Nunavut, Canada *Rural Municipality of Garry No. 245, ...

from a specimen collected at Cape Naturaliste and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Review''. 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 ...

(''jonesii'') honours David Jones.

Distribution and habitat

The Dunsborough donkey orchid grows in shrubland and woodland in near-coastal areas between Dunsborough and Augusta in the Jarrah Forest,

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

and Warren

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation

''Diuris magnifica'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q26085226 jonesii Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2013