Cheirostylis notialis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Southern fleshy jewel orchid | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Subtribe: | Goodyerinae |
| Genus: | Cheirostylis |
| Species: | C. notialis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cheirostylis notialis | |
Cheirostylis notialis, commonly known as the southern fleshy jewel orchid,[3] is a species of orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia where it grows in shady places in wet forest. It has between three and six egg-shaped leaves and up to four small flowers that open only slowly or not at all. It is differs from C. ovata in having smaller leaves and smaller often cleistogamous flowers.
Cheirostylis notialis is a tuberous, perennial herb with between three and six egg-shaped leaves, 13–35 mm (0.5–1 in) long and 9–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) wide on a petiole 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) long. Up to four resupinate, hairy white flowers, 6–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem 50–180 mm (2–7 in) tall. The dorsal sepal is 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide and fused with the lateral sepals to form a tube. The lateral sepals are a similar size to the dorsal sepal and the petals are the same length but about half as wide. The labellum is 8.5 mm (0.3 in) long, about 7 mm (0.3 in) wide with a shallow, pouch-like base. The tip of the labellum has two lobes with toothed edges. Flowering occurs from October to November.[3][4][5]