''Genoplesium psammophilum'' is a species of small terrestrial orchid endemic to coastal and near-coastal areas in south-eastern Queensland. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to thirty five small, dark red or brownish red flowers. The species is treated as ''Corunastylis psammophila'' in Queensland.

Description

''Genoplesium psammophilum'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous,

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 and a single thin leaf long and fused to the flowering stem with the free part long. Between five and thirty five flowers are crowded along a flowering stem which is long, reaching to a height of . The flowers are dark red or brownish red and about 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 is linear to egg-shaped, about long and wide and the lateral sepals are more or less lance-shaped, about long, wide and spread widely apart. There is a small, white

gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

on the tip of the lateral sepals. 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 linear to egg-shaped, about long and wide with an s-shaped gland on the tip. The labellum is light to dark red, elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, about long and wide. There is a reddish to reddish black callus in the centre of the labellum and covering about half of its surface. Flowering occurs from March to May.

Taxonomy and naming

''Genoplesium psammophilum'' was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near

Amity Amity may refer to: Places United States * Eagar, Arizona, a town, formerly named Amity * Amity (New Haven), Connecticut, a neighborhood * Amity, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Amity, Illinois (disambiguation) * Amity, Indiana, an uni ...

and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. In 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to ''Corunastylis psammophila'' and the species is known by that name in Queensland, but the name is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census. 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 ...

(''psammophila'') is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''ψάμμος (psámmos)'', meaning “sand” and ''φίλος (phílos)'', meaning “dear one" or "friend”, referring to the soil type in which this species is found.

Distribution and habitat

''Genoplesium psammophilum'' grows in coastal and near-coastal heath and wallum in south-eastern Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15465178 psammophilum Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1991