''Genoplesium fimbriatum'', commonly known as the fringed midge orchid is a small terrestrial

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 ...

found from southern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

to southern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It has a single thin leaf and up to thirty green to brownish-green flowers with red stripes and a red-tipped labellum with hairy edges. Genoplesium fimbriatum habit

Description

''Genoplesium fimbriatum'' is a terrestrial,

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 ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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 an underground

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 ...

and a single thin leaf long with the free part long. Between five and thirty lemon-scented flowers are crowded along a flowering stem tall. The flowers are green to brownish-green with red stripes and are long, wide. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

rather than below it. 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, wide with red stripes, a hairy edge and a sharp tip. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, long, wide, free from each other and spread widely apart. 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 egg-shaped, pointed, about long and wide and striped with long hairs on the edge. The labellum is linear, long, wide with its red tip curled upwards and long pink to red hairs on its edge. The labellum quivers in the slightest breeze. Flowering occurs between December and May.

Taxonomy and naming

The fringed leek orchid was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name ''Prasophyllum fimbriatum'' and published the description in '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. In 1989, David Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to ''Genoplesium fimbriatum'' and in 2002 changed the name again to ''Corunastylis fimbriata'' but the latter change has not been accepted by the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plan ...

. 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 ...

(''fimbriatum'') 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 "fringed" or "fibrous".

Distribution and habitat

''Genoplesium fimbriatum'' grows in a range of habitats including open forest, heath and moss gardens. It is found in near-coastal areas and nearby tablelands between Stanthorpe and Vincentia. It often occurs in areas with frequent wildfires and a relatively high rainfall.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5533512 fimbriatum Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1810