''Gastrodia vescula'', commonly known as small potato orchid, is a leafless terrestrial

mycotrophic A mycotroph is a plant that gets all or part of its carbon, water, or nutrient supply through symbiotic association with fungi. The term can refer to plants that engage in either of two distinct symbioses with fungi: *Many mycotrophs have a mut ...

orchid in the

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. It has a very thin, brittle, light brown flowering stem with up to three pale brown flowers that are white on the inside. It is only known from a small area near the border between

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and Victoria.

Description

''Gastrodia vescula'' is a leafless terrestrial, mycotrophic

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 ...

that has a very thin, brittle pale brown flowering stem tall with up to three, mostly drooping, smooth light brown flowers. The

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 ...

s and

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 joined, forming a tube about long and white inside with the lobes about long. The labellum is about long, about wide with three lobes and completely enclosed in the tube. Flowering occurs from November to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Gastrodia vescula'' was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected in a nature reserve near Mount Gambier in 1988. The description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. 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 ...

(''vescula'') 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 "little" or "trifling" referring to the habit of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

The small potato orchid is only known from small area in the far southeast of South Australia and far western Victoria where it grows in dense, heathy forest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1495629 vescula Plants described in 1991 Terrestrial orchids Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Victoria (Australia)