''Eulophia venosa'', commonly known as the pointed corduroy orchid,
is a plant in the
orchid family and is
native to
India, parts of
Southeast Asia as well as
New Guinea and northern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is a
deciduous,
terrestrial orchid with one large and one small leaf and between six and twenty pale green or yellowish flowers with purple markings. It grows in rainforest and grassy forests.
Description
''Eulophia venosa'' is a deciduous, terrestrial
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 dark green, narrow lance-shaped leaves long and wide, one leaf larger than the other. Between six and twenty pale green or yellowish flowers with purple markings, long and wide are borne on a wiry flowering stem long. The flowers are
resupinate
Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back
with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward".
The word " ...
and shaped like a star. The
sepals are narrow triangular in shape, long, about wide and spread horizontally and widely apart from 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 elliptic in shape, long and about wide. The
labellum is long, wide, has deep purplish red veins and three lobes. The middle lobe turns downwards and is wavy but the side lobes are upright. Flowering occurs between July and November.
Taxonomy and naming
The pointed corduroy orchid was first formally described in 1858 by
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...
who gave it the name ''Dipodium venosum'' and published the description in ''
Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae''.
In 1873,
George Bentham changed the name to ''Eulophia venosa'' and published the change in ''
Flora Australiensis''.
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 ...
(''venosa'') is a
Latin word meaning "veiny".
Distribution and habitat
''Eulophia venosa'' grows in woodland, grassy forest and on the edge of rainforests. It is variously reported as occurring in northern
Queensland, the
Northern Territory, New Guinea, India,
Indonesia,
Malaysia, and
Taiwan.
References
{{Taxonbar, from= Q15445132
venosa
Orchids of New South Wales
Endemic orchids of Australia
Plants described in 1858
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller