''Diuris laxiflora'', commonly known as bee orchid, is a species of orchid which is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has two to five narrowly linear leaves and up to six yellow flowers with brown markings. It is a small orchid, common within its range and about half the size of the common donkey orchid, '' Diuris corymbosa''.

Description

''Diuris laxiflora'' 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 to five narrowly linear leaves long and wide. Up to five yellow flowers with brown markings, long and wide are borne on a flowering stem tall. The dorsal sepal is narrowly egg-shaped, long and wide, the lateral sepals parallel or crossed, 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 elliptic to egg-shaped or almost round, long and wide on a stalk long. The labellum is long with three lobes - the centre lobe broadly wedge-shaped, long and wide, the side lobes spread widely apart and oblong, long, wide and with a prominent red blotch at the base. There is are two calli outlined with red either side of the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to early November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Diuris laxiflora'' first described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1839 and published in his "

A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it, ...

" (1840). In ''The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants'' he wrote "The pedicels and ovary together are about 3 inches long, which is less than the length of the internodes. Each stem bears from 4 to 8 flowers, which seem to be dark yellow, with no spotting, but perhaps with some stains of purple." 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 ...

(''laxiflora'') means "open-flowered".

Distribution and habitat

Bee orchid is endemic to the south western corner of Western Australia, occurring in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee,

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 A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

biogeographical regions of Western Australia. It grows in sand,

lateritic Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

, clay and granite rock margins in winter-wet swamps.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10267398 laxiflora Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 1839 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by John Lindley