''Earina'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
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 ...
s (
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Orchidaceae). AT the present time (June 2014), 7 species are recognized, native to various islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>
The New Zealand species are all epiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
, or sometimes lithophytic
Lithophytes are plants that grow in or on rocks. They can be classified as either epilithic (or epipetric) or endolithic; epilithic lithophytes grow on the surfaces of rocks, while endolithic lithophytes grow in the crevices of rocks (and are als ...
, found growing on mossy trunks in the rain forests of both the North and South Islands. The strap-shaped leaves grow from pendulous wire-thin pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed heteroblastic and ...
s that arise from creeping rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
s. ''E. mucronata'' flowers mainly in the spring, whereas ''E. autumnalis'', as its name suggests, flowers in the autumn—its flowers are fragrant. The flowers are tiny, typically less than 1 cm across, but are produced in abundance. A large flowering specimen in the bush
"The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...
looks spectacular.
Species
# '' Earina aestivalis'' Cheeseman. - New Zealand North Island
# '' Earina autumnalis'' ( G. Forst.) Hook.f.
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
- New Zealand (North and South Islands, plus Chatham Island)
# '' Earina deplanchei'' Rchb.f.
Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helve ...
- New Caledonia
# '' Earina floripecten'' Kraenzl. Friedrich (Fritz) Wilhelm Ludwig Kränzlin (25 July 1847 – 9 March 1934) was a botanist associated with the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (BM).
In the history of the European study of South African orchids, Fritz Krä ...
- New Caledonia
# '' Earina mucronata'' Lindl.
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 ...
- New Zealand (North and South Islands, plus Chatham Island)
# '' Earina sigmoidea'' T.Hashim. - Vanuatu
# '' Earina valida'' Rchb.f.
Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helve ...
- Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3299946
Epidendreae genera
Epiphytic orchids