Acianthus caudatus
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Acianthus caudatus.jpg
| image_caption = Acianthus caudatus growing in the Budy Bim National Park
| name = Mayfly orchid
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Acianthus
| species = caudatus
| authority = R.Br.{{cite web |title=Acianthus caudatus |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/73167 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=28 February 2023}}
| synonyms =
- Acianthus caudatus var. ater Lindl.
- Acianthus caudatus R.Br. var. caudatus
- Acianthus caudatus var. pallidus Rupp
- Epipactis caudata (R.Br.) Poir.
- Nemacianthus caudatus (R.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
}}
Acianthus caudatus, commonly known as mayfly orchid,{{cite book |last1=Copeland |first1=Lachlan M. |last2=Backhouse |first2=Gary N. |title=Guide to Native Orchids of NSW and ACT |date=2022 |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |location=Collingwood |isbn=9781486313686 |pages=13–14}} is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a terrestrial herb with a single egg-shaped or heart-shaped leaf and up to nine dark purplish flowers with thin, spreading sepals and petals, often with a musty odour.
Description
Acianthus caudatus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herb with a single thin, egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaf which is dark green on the upper surface and reddish-purple on its lower surface. The leaf is {{convert|8-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|6-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and has wavy or minutely toothed edges. There are up to nine dark purplish flowers on a raceme {{convert|50-250|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} high, each flower {{convert|30-40|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. The dorsal sepal is erect, expanded near its base, {{convert|15-25|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and tapers to a fine point. The lateral sepals are a similar shape but shorter, {{convert|15-25|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and spread apart from each other. The petals are narrow lance-shaped, {{convert|3-5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, curved and spread apart from each other. The labellum is egg-shaped to wedge-shaped, {{convert|5-6|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with the tip turned downwards. Flowering occurs from August to October.{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=Acianthus caudatus|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acianthus~caudatus|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney:plantnet|accessdate=5 December 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Jeanes|first1=Jeff|title=Acianthus caudatus|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/71d58389-222c-472c-9742-eadab451fec3|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria|accessdate=5 December 2017}}
Taxonomy and naming
Acianthus caudatus was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.{{cite web|title=Acianthus caudatus|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/485157|publisher=APNI|accessdate=5 December 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Robert|title=Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae|date=1810|location=London|page=321|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21771#page/191/mode/1up|accessdate=5 December 2017}} The specific epithet (caudatus) is derived from the Latin word cauda meaning "tail".{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =779}}
Distribution and habitat
Mayfly orchid grows among low shrubs in open forest south of the Manning River in New South Wales, through Victoria to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is also found in Tasmania.{{cite web|title=Acianthus caudatus|url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&family=&genus=Acianthus&species=caudatus&iname=&submit=Display|publisher=State Herbarium of South Australia|accessdate=5 December 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Jordan|first1=Greg|title=Acianthus|url=http://www.utas.edu.au/dicotkey/dicotkey/orchids_this/gAcianthus.htm|publisher=University of Tasmania|accessdate=5 December 2017}}
References
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External links
- {{Commons-inline|italic=1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q8187425}}
Category:Orchids of New South Wales
Category:Orchids of Queensland
Category:Orchids of South Australia
Category:Orchids of Victoria (state)
Category:Endemic orchids of Australia