Genoplesium formosum
{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Cathcart midge orchid
| image = Genoplesium formosum.jpg
| image_caption =
| genus = Genoplesium
| species = formosum
| authority = D.L.Jones{{cite web|title=Genoplesium formosum|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/167946|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=13 July 2021}}
| synonyms = Corunastylis formosa (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
}}
Genoplesium formosum, commonly known as the Cathcart midge orchid, is a small terrestrial orchid found in southern New South Wales. It has a single thin leaf and up to twenty five dark reddish purple flowers with darker lines.
Description
Genoplesium formosum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin leaf {{convert|60-300|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long with the free part {{convert|10-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. Between ten and twenty relatively large flowers are crowded along a flowering stem {{convert|20-40|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall and slightly taller than the leaf. The flowers lean downwards, are dark reddish purple with darker lines and are {{convert|7-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-6|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is {{convert|6.5-7|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2.5-3|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide with a sharply pointed tip. The lateral sepals are {{convert|8-9|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|1-2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with a pointed tip and are free from each other. The petals are {{convert|6-6.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and have a pointed tip and sometimes a few hairs on the edges. The labellum is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, thick and fleshy, {{convert|4.5-5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2.5-3|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide with a sharply pointed tip and coarse hairs on its edges. There is a callus in the centre of the labellum and extending nearly to its tip. Flowering occurs between October and December.{{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|page =180}}
Taxonomy and naming
Genoplesium formosum was first formally described in 2001 by David Jones from a specimen collected in the Wadbilliga National Park and the description was published in The Orchadian.{{cite web|title=Genoplesium formosum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/577126|publisher=APNI|accessdate=3 February 2018}} In 2002 Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to Corunastylis formosa but the change is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census.{{cite web|title=Corunastylis formosa|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/581184|publisher=APNI|accessdate=3 February 2017}} The specific epithet (formosum) is a Latin word meaning “beautifully formed” or "handsome".{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =346}}
Distribution and habitat
The Cathcart midge orchid grows with shrubs or grasses near streams or near swamps. It is found in isolated populations between Wadbilliga National Park and Cathcart.
References
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Category:Endemic orchids of Australia