''Genoplesium plumosum'', commonly known as the Tallong midge-orchid or plumed midge-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 flowerin ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is a small orchid only known from a few sites near the towns of

Tallong Tallong is in the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a village within the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, in Goulburn-Mulwaree Council. The village is located just outside the southern extremity of the ...

and Wingello on the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cleared and ...

and is only relatively easy to find for about a month, when it flowers. It has been classified as "Endangered" under the

EPBC Act The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

Description

''Genoplesium plumosum'' is a terrestrial,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

herb, usually with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and a pair of more or less spherical

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s. The tubers are partly covered by a protective fibrous sheath which extends to the soil surface. There is a single cylindrical,

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

leaf fused to the flowering stem. The leaf is long and the part which is free from the stem is long and ends below the flowers. The leaf of flowering plants is solid but the leaves on plants without flowers are hollow. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a spike tall, with between one and eight, non-

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

flowers. The flowers are more or less

pendulous This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

, moderately crowded, , greenish with purple stripes and have a purplish-red labellum. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

is narrowly egg-shaped, long, about wide, dished on the lower surface with smooth edges and a pointed tip. The

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...

sepals are linear to lance-shaped, long, about wide and diverge from each other. The petals are narrow egg-shaped, long, about wide with a long, pointed tip. The labellum is above the column and stiffly hinged to it, and is oblong, about long, wide with hairy edges and a pointed tip. The

callus A callus is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may o ...

is narrow egg-shaped to lance-shaped and extends nearly to the tip of the labellum. Flowering usually occurs 4 to 6 weeks following summer or autumn rainfall. The fruit is a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule containing hundreds of seeds.

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of ''Prasophyllum plumosum'' was by Herman Rupp in 1942 from a specimen found near

Kurnell Kurnell is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire along the east coast. Cronulla and Woolooware are the onl ...

and the description was published in ''The Victorian Naturalist''. In 1989, David Jones and Mark Clements placed it and most other species of ''Prasophyllum'' into ''Genoplesium''. In 2002 Jones and Clements have proposed moving all but one of ''Genoplesium'' back to ''Corunastylis'' but the move has not been widely accepted. The specific epithet (''plumosum'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "feathered".

Distribution and habitat

Tallong midge-orchid grows among low shrubs in forest and in moss gardens over sandstone mainly between Sydney Harbour and

Marulan Marulan is the traditional lands of the Gundungurra people. It is a small town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in the Goulburn Mulwaree Council local government area. It is located south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highw ...

Conservation

''Genoplesium plumosum'' has not been observed at the type location for more than 80 years and is now only known from a total area of and with a total population estimated in 2008 to be between 250 and 280 plants near Tallong and Wingello with a few individual plants in the

Morton National Park The Morton National Park is a national park located in the Southern Highlands, South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales, Australia, situated approximately south southwest of Sydney. Location and features The most notable attractio ...

. The main reasons for its decline have been land clearing and grazing by the introduced European Rabbit (''

Oryctolagus cuniculus The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...

''). The species is now listed as "Critically Endangered" in terms of the EPBC Act.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15464932 plumosum Orchids of New South Wales Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1942