Pinalia fitzalanii
{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pinalia fitzalanii.jpg
| image_caption = Cultivated in Kew Gardens
| genus = Pinalia
| species = fitzalanii
| authority = (F.Muell.) Kuntze{{cite web |title=Pinalia fitzalanii |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:651516-1#synonyms |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=26 July 2024}}
| synonyms =
- Eria fitzalanii F.Muell.
- Hymeneria fitzalanii (F.Muell.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones)
- Bryobium indivisum (Schltr.) J.J.Wood
- Eria hollandiae J.J.Sm.
- Eria indivisa Schltr.
- Eria solomonensis Rolfe
}}
Pinalia fitzalanii, commonly known as the common fuzz orchid,{{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 =468}} is a plant in the orchid family and is a clump-forming epiphyte or lithophyte. It has crowded pseudobulbs, each with three or four stiff, egg-shaped leaves sheathing the pseudobulb and up to thirty five creamy yellow flowers with soft hairs on the outside. It is found in moist habitats in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and tropical North Queensland.
Description
Pinalia fitzalanii is an epiphytic or lithophytic, clump-forming herb with crowded, oval pseudobulbs {{convert|150-200|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}, {{convert|30-40|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide and covered with papery brown bracts. Each pseudobulb has three or four thin, stiff, egg-shaped leaves {{convert|200-300|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} and {{convert|40-50|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide. Between five and thirty five resupinate, creamy yellow flowers, {{convert|12-15|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and wide are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|150-300|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long. The flowers have soft hairs on the outside, and open widely at first, before becoming cup-shaped. The lateral sepals are {{convert|6-8|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|4|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide, the dorsal sepal slightly narrower. The petals are {{convert|5-7|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|2.5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide. The labellum is {{convert|6-8|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4-5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide with a more or less square-cut tip and three ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs between August and October.{{cite web |author1=D.L.Jones |author2=T.Hopley |author3=S.M.Duffy |author1-link=David L. Jones (botanist) |year=2010 |access-date=30 May 2021 |url=http://www.canbr.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/RFKOrchids/key/rfkorchids/Media/Html/Hymeneria_fitzalanii.htm |title=Factsheet - Hymeneria fitzalanii |website=Australian Tropical Rainforest Orchids |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government}}{{cite web |title=Pinalia fitzalanii |url=https://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=156237 |publisher=Orchids of New Guinea |accessdate=15 January 2019}}
Taxonomy and naming
The common fuzz orchid was first formally described in 1882 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Eria fitzalanii and published the description in Southern Science Record. The type specimen was collected near the Mulgrave River by Eugene Fitzalan.{{cite web|title=Eria fitzalanii|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/513355|publisher=APNI|accessdate=15 January 2019}}{{cite journal |last1=von Mueller |first1=Ferdinand |title=Definitions of some new Australian plants |journal=Southern Science Record |date=1882 |volume=2 |pages=252–253 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131344#page/258/mode/1up |accessdate=15 January 2019}} In 1891, Otto Kuntze changed the name to Pinalia fitzalanii.{{cite web|title=Pinalia fitzalanii|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/6275497|publisher=APNI|accessdate=15 January 2019}} The specific epithet (fitzalanii) honours the collector of the type specimen.
Distribution and habitat
Pinalia fitzalanii grows on rocks and on trees in humid places in forest and woodland. It is found in the Solomon Islands, in New Guinea and on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland as far south as Townsville.
References
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Category:Endemic orchids of Australia