Diuris concinna
{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Elegant donkey orchid
| image = Diuris concinna (2).jpg
| image_caption = Diuris concinna growing in Dunns Swamp, near Hopetoun
| genus = Diuris
| species = concinna
| authority = D.L.Jones{{cite web|title=Diuris concinna|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/117433|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=24 June 2023}}
| synonyms =
}}
Diuris concinna, commonly called the elegant donkey orchid, is a species of orchid which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has up to five linear leaves at its base and up to five pale yellow flowers with brown markings. It is found along the south coast, often growing in areas that are flooded in winter and flowering more prolifically after fire the previous summer.
Description
Diuris concinna is a tuberous, perennial herb, usually growing to a height of {{convert|200-400|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}, although often up to {{convert|600|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} when surrounded by sedges. Between three and five linear leaves emerge at the base, each leaf {{convert|80-150|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. Up to five pale yellow flowers with brown markings, {{convert|25|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|200-400|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The dorsal sepal is more or less erect, egg-shaped, {{convert|8-14|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-8.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The lateral sepals are linear to sword-shaped, green and purplish, {{convert|10-17|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide, turned downwards and parallel to each other. The petals are curved backwards, spread apart from each other, sometimes almost horizontal, with an elliptic blade {{convert|9-13|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide on a reddish-brown stalk {{convert|3-6|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. The labellum is {{convert|10-14|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and has three lobes. The centre lobe is egg-shaped, {{convert|6-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|8-11|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and the side lobes are egg-shaped, {{convert|4-7|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2-3.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. There are two ridge-like calli {{convert|5-6|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long near the mid-line of the base of the labellum. Flowering occurs between September and December, reaching a peak in mid-October.{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Andrew|last2=Dixon|first2=Kingsley|last3=French|first3=Christopher|last4=Brockman|first4=Garry|title=Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia|date=2013|publisher=Simon Nevill Publications|isbn=9780980348149|page=206}}{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae|journal=Australian Orchid Research|date=1991|volume=2|pages=53–54}}{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|pages =122–123}}{{cite book|last1=Hoffman|first1=Noel|last2=Brown|first2=Andrew|title=Orchids of South-West Australia.|date=2011|publisher=Noel Hoffman|location=Gooseberry Hill|isbn=9780646562322|page=493|edition=3rd}}{{cite web|last1=Archer|first1=William|title=Elegant donkey orchid - Diuris concinna|url=http://esperancewildflowers.blogspot.com.au/2008/08/elegant-donkey-orchid-diuris-concinna.html|publisher=Esperance Wildflowers|accessdate=17 March 2018}}
Taxonomy and naming
Diuris concinna was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Esperance, and the description was published in Australian Orchid Review.{{cite web|title=Duiris concinna|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/551644|publisher=APNI|accessdate=17 March 2018}} The specific epithet (concinna) is a Latin word meaning "well-arranged, skilfully joined, beautiful [or] striking".{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =227}}
Distribution and habitat
The elegant donkey orchid grows in winter-wet areas, usually between low shrubs or sedges between the Cape Arid and Fitzgerald River National Parks in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.{{FloraBase|name=Diuris concinna |id=12942}}
Conservation
Diuris concinna is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons-inline|italic=1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10267378}}
Category:Endemic orchids of Australia
Category:Orchids of Western Australia
Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia