'' Orthoceras strictum'', commonly known as the bird's-mouth orchid or horned orchid, is a species of

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 ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to eastern and southern

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 ...

, New Zealand and

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. It has between two and five linear leaves and up to nine yellowish green, brownish or blackish flowers with two long, erect to spreading lateral sepals. Orthoceras strictum green

Description

''Orthoceras strictum'' 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 tuft of between two and five linear to thread-like, grass-like leaves, long and wide. Up to nine flowers wide are borne on a rigid flowering stem tall. Flower colour varies from blackish, brownish, maroon to yellowish green. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped and forms a hood over the rest of the flower, long and wide. The lateral sepals are linear, horn-like, long, about wide and erect, spreading or curved. 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 oblong, long, about wide and hidden inside the dorsal sepal. The labellum is long and has three lobes. The middle lobe is elliptic to egg-shaped, long, wide and the side lobes are long, about wide. There is a pyramid-shaped callus near the base of the labellum. Flowering occurs from November to February.

Taxonomy and naming

''Orthoceras strictum'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in his book '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. The generic name (''Orthoceras'') is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''orthos'' meaning "straight" and ''keras, keratos'' meaning "horn, which alludes to the upright lateral sepals.Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 251 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 ...

(''strictum'') is a Latin word meaning "straight" or "tight".

Distribution and habitat

The bird's-mouth orchid is widespread but uncommon and occurs in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New Caledonia. It grows in a wide range of habitats from grassy forest to heath. The differences between this species and '' Orthoceras novae-zeelandiae'' from New Zealand are "very slight and dubious".

Conservation

''Orthoceras strictum'' is listed in Tasmania as "rare" under the Tasmanian Government '' Threatened Species Protection Act 1995''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3014832 Diuridinae Orchids of Oceania Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Tasmania Orchids of Queensland Orchids of New Zealand Orchids of New Guinea Orchids of New Caledonia Plants described in 1810