''Prasophyllum flavum'', commonly known as the yellow leek orchid, is a species of
orchid endemic to 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 with only a short free section and up to fifty scented, yellowish-green flowers.
Description
''Prasophyllum flavum'' 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 a
rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
-like underground
tuber and a single tube-shaped leaf, up to long with a free section less than long. Between eight and fifty fragrant flowers up to across are crowded along a flowering spike up to tall. The flowers are yellowish-green with the
ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...
pressed up against the flowering stem. 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, up to long is deeply dished. The
lateral sepals are also up to long, dished liked the dorsal sepal and usually, but not always, joined for most of their length. 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 egg-shaped to lance-shaped, up to long and have a pointed end. The labellum is egg-shaped to lance-shaped, up to long, turns upwards and has wavy, wrinkled edges. Flowering occurs from October to January.
Taxonomy and naming
''Prasophyllum flavum'' was first formally described in 1810 by
Robert Brown and the description was published in ''
Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''.
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 ...
(''flavum'') is a
Latin word meaning "yellow" or "golden-yellow".
Distribution and habitat
The yellow leek orchid grows in moist, fertile soils in high-rainfall forests. It is found on the coast and ranges of
New South Wales and in
Victoria south-east
Queensland and in
Tasmania.
References
External links
*
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q15489336
flavum
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of Tasmania
Flora of Victoria (state)
Endemic orchids of Australia
Plants described in 1810