''Prasophyllum brevilabre'', commonly known as short-lip leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern

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 ...

. It has a single tubular, green leaf and up to thirty small, greenish-brown flowers with a white labellum. The labellum is sharply turned back on itself so that its tip almost reaches its base. Prasophyllum brevilabre close-up

Description

''Prasophyllum brevilabre'' 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 tube-shaped leaf up to long with the free part long. Up to thirty flowers are well-spaced along a flowering spike tall. The flowers are greenish-brown and 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 egg-shaped to lance-shaped, reddish-brown and long. The lateral sepals are about long, sometimes joined together but often free 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 linear to lance-shaped, long, sometimes wavy and sometimes sickle-shaped. The labellum is spoon-shaped, long and about wide. It is turned back on itself so that its tip almost touches its base, and its edges are wavy. Flowering occurs from September to January, most prolifically after fire the previous summer.

Taxonomy and naming

The short-lip leek orchid was first formally described in 1840 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

who gave it the name ''Prasophyllum lutescens'' var. ''brevilabre'' and published the description in ''The genera and species of orchidaceous plants''. In 1859 Joseph Dalton Hooker changed the name to ''Prasophyllum brevilabre''. 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 ...

(''brevilabre'') is derived from the Latin words ''brevis'' meaning "short" and ''labrum'' meaning "lip".

Distribution and habitat

''Prasophyllum brevilabre'' occurs in south-eastern Queensland, the coastal New South Wales and sometimes as far inland as Mount Kaputar, in the higher rainfall areas of Victoria and is widespread in Tasmania. It grows in a variety of habitats from coastal heath to forest, sometimes in subalpine regions.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15488485 brevilabre Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1840 Taxa named by John Lindley