''Genoplesium vernale'', commonly known as the spring midge orchid or East Lynne midge orchid is a small terrestrial orchid which is endemic to a small area on the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

of New South Wales. It has a single thin leaf and up to twenty five dark purplish-black flowers with tiny glandular hairs on the sepals 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 ...

Description

''Genoplesium vernale'' 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, dark green leaf long and reddish at the base with the free part of the leaf long. Between ten and twenty five dark purplish-black flowers are crowded along a flowering stem long reaching to a height of . The flowers lean downwards and are about long, wide and as with others in the genus, 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 broadly egg-shaped, long, wide with a sharply pointed tip and tiny glandular hairs on its edges. The lateral sepals are narrow oblong to lance-shaped, long, wide with a humped base, tiny glandular hairs on its edges and are more or less parallel to each other. The petals are lance-shaped to narrow egg-shaped, long, wide with a sharply pointed tip and tiny glandular hairs on the edges. The labellum is narrow oblong to elliptic in shape, about long, wide, thick and fleshy with tiny glandular hairs on its edges. There is a dark purple to brownish-black callus in the centre of the labellum and extending almost to its tip. Flowering occurs between September and December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Genoplesium vernale'' was first formally described in 2001 by David Jones and the description was published in ''The Orchadian''. In 2002, Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to ''Corunastylis vernalis''. 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 ...

(''vernale'') is a Latin word meaning "spring".

Distribution and habitat

The spring midge orchid grows in shrubby forest between Jervis Bay and

Mogo Mogo is a fictional character who appears as a sentient planet and a member of the Green Lantern Corps in the DC Universe. Publication history Mogo first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #188 (May 1985) in a story titled "Mogo Doesn't Soci ...

Conservation

''Genoplesium vernale'' is only known from a narrow belt of forest about wide. A survey conducted in 2000 found about 450 plants but the number is probably greater since not all suitable habitat has been surveyed. The main threats to the species are land clearing, forestry operations and inappropriate fire regimes. The species is listed as "Vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (EPBC) Act and the New South Wales ''

Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 The ''Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act)'' was enacted by the Parliament of New South Wales in 1995 to protect threatened species, populations and ecological communities in NSW. In 2016 it was replaced by the '' Biodiversity Co ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15463618 vernale Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Plants described in 2001