Acianthus caudatus

Acianthus caudatus, commonly known as the mayfly orchid, is a 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.

Mayfly orchid
Acianthus caudatus growing in the Budy Bim National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Subtribe: Acianthinae
Genus: Acianthus
Species:
A. caudatus
Binomial name
Acianthus caudatus
Synonyms[2]

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 8–30 mm (0.3–1 in) long, 6–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) wide and has wavy or minutely toothed edges. There are up to nine dark purplish flowers on a raceme 50–250 mm (2–10 in) high, each flower 30–40 mm (1–2 in) long. The dorsal sepal is erect, expanded near its base, 15–25 mm (0.6–1 in) long and tapers to a fine point. The lateral sepals are a similar shape but shorter, 15–25 mm (0.6–1 in) long and spread apart from each other. The petals are narrow lance-shaped, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, curved and spread apart from each other. The labellum is egg-shaped to wedge-shaped, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide with the tip turned downwards. Flowering occurs from August to October.[3][4]

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.[1][5] The specific epithet (caudatus) is derived from the Latin word cauda meaning "tail".[6]

Distribution and habitat

The 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.[3][4][7][8]

References
  1. "Acianthus caudatus". APNI. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. "Acianthus caudatus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. Jones, David L. "Acianthus caudatus". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney:plantnet. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  4. Jeanes, Jeff. "Acianthus caudatus". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae. London. p. 321. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 779.
  7. "Acianthus caudatus". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. Jordan, Greg. "Acianthus". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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