''Peristylus maingayi'', commonly known as the white ogre orchid, is a species of orchid that is native to southern Indochina, New Guinea and north Queensland. It has two or three broad leaves near its base and up to fifteen small white flowers that are tube-shaped near the base and have a three-lobed labellum.

Description

''Peristylus banfieldii'' is a tuberous, perennial

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 between two and three leaves long and wide. Between eight and fifteen tube-shaped, white flowers long and wide are borne on a flowering stem tall. The dorsal sepal is long, about wide and forms a partial hood over 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. ...

. The lateral sepals are a similar length to the dorsal sepal but slightly narrower and spread apart from each other. 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 more or less triangular, about long and wide. The labellum is long, about wide with its tip divided into three lobes about long and wide. Flowering occurs from March to May.

Taxonomy and naming

The white ogre orchid was first formally described in 1897 by George King and

Robert Pantling The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

who gave it the name ''Habenaria maingayi'' and published the description in ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal''. In 2001

Jeffrey James Wood Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...

and

Paul Abel Ormerod Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

changed the name to ''Peristylus maingayi''. 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 ...

(''maingayi'') honours the collector of the type specimen,

Alexander Carroll Maingay Alexander Carroll Maingay (1836 - 1869) was a British physician, botanist and botanical collector. Education Alexander Carroll Maingay was born in Great Ayton, Yorkshire and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh from 1854-1858, obt ...

Distribution and habitat

''Peristylus maingayi'' grows in swampy grassland, and grassy forest and woodland. It is found in Malesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, New Guinea and northern

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 ...

where it occurs on the Cape York Peninsula and as far south as Proserpine.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q15484108 Orchids of Queensland Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1897 maingayi