Cyanicula
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| Cyanicula | |
|---|---|
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| Cyanicula caerulea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Subtribe: | Caladeniinae |
| Genus: | Cyanicula Hopper & A.P.Br.[1] |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Cyanicula, commonly known as blue orchids, is a genus of twelve species of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. All are endemic to Australia, eleven are endemic to Western Australia and one species occurs in eastern Australia. While both the common and scientific names refer to "blue", the two subspecies of C. ixioides have yellow or white flowers. They are similar to orchids in the genus Caladenia but differ in their flowers colour and in other important ways.
Orchids in the genus Caladenia are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and a tuber partly surrounded by a fibrous sheath. Unlike orchids in the genus Caladenia, the tuber does not produces "droppers" - instead replacing itself within the same cavity. There is a single hairy convolute leaf at the base of the plant. Unlike the hairs on caladenia leaves, the hairs do not have an enlarged cell at their base. The leaf is linear to egg-shaped, fleshy or leathery, lance-shaped to oblong, but is always simple, lacking lobes and serrations.[2][3][4]
The inflorescence is a raceme with up to three resupinate flowers. The three sepals and two petals are free and similar in size and shape to each other. As is usual in orchids, one petal is highly modified as the central labellum. The labellum is usually divided into three parts, each of which usually has a fringed or dentate margin, while the central lobe has stalked or button-like calli which are sometimes in rows. The sexual parts of the flower are fused to the column, which has wing-like structures on its sides. Flowering occurs in spring, although more prolifically after fires the previous summer. The fruit that follows flowering is a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule containing up to 500 seeds.[2][3][4]