''Diuris magnifica'', commonly called the large pansy 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 ...

which is

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 the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It has large, colourful flowers and is common in a narrow range near the coast around

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, often occurring with the similar but smaller '' Diuris corymbosa''.

Description

''Diuris magnifica'' is a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

ous,

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 ...

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, wide and folded lengthwise. There are between three and nine golden-yellow and purple flowers long and wide. 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 egg-shaped, long and wide and curves upwards. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, long, about wide, turned downwards and usually crossed. 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 erect with an egg-shaped blade long and wide on a purplish-brown stalk long. The labellum is mauve or purple with some yellow markings, long and has three lobes. The centre lobe is wedge-shaped, long and wide and the side lobes are long and wide. There is a single yellow, ridged callus long in the mid-line of the labellum. The species is similar to several other ''Diuris'' including '' D. corymbosa'' and '' D. amplissima'' but is distinguished from them by its size, flowering period and distribution. Flowering occurs from late August to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Diuris magnifica'' was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected in a reserve near Kwinana 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 ...

(magnifica) is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "noble", "eminent" or "splendid" referring to the large, colourful flowers of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

The large pansy orchid is common in near coastal shrubland and woodland between Lancelin and

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

in the Geraldton Sandplains,

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

. At the northern end of its distribution, this species hybridises with the as yet undescribed Arrowsmith pansy orchid ( ''Diuris'' sp. 'Eneabba') and in the south with '' D. corymbosa''.

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 e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3032192 magnifica Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)