Spiculaea
| Elbow orchid | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| S. ciliata growing on Boyagin Rock | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Subtribe: | Drakaeinae |
| Genus: |
Spiculaea Lindl. |
| Species: | S. ciliata |
| Binomial name | |
|
Spiculaea ciliata Lindl. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Drakaea ciliata (Lindl.) Rchb.f. |
|
Drakaea ciliata (Lindl.) Rchb.f.
Spiculaea ciliata, commonly known as elbow orchid, is the only species in the flowering plant genus Spiculaea in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is unusual in a number of respects, including that it grows in shallow soil on granite rock outcrops, grows and flowers in the hottest months of the year and has a unique method of using thynnid wasps as pollinators.
Spiculaea ciliata is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herb with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and an oval-shaped tuber lacking a protective sheath. The tuber produces a replacement tuber and daughter tubers on the end of short, root-like stolons. There is a single stalked leaf about 2 cm (0.8 in) long, 1 cm (0.4 in) wide at the base of the plant and purplish on the lower surface. The leaf is fully developed before the first flowers appear but withers before the first flowers open in late October.
There are up to ten resupinate flowers on the end of a wiry stem 10–18 cm (4–7 in) high which is thickest near the top and which gradually withers from the base as the flowers mature. Each flower is straw-coloured, 20 mm (0.8 in) long and 10 mm (0.4 in) wide on a short stalk. The sepal curves over the top of the flower, with its side edges curved downwards. The two sepals are shorter than the dorsal sepal and the two petals are narrower than both. The petals are sepals are separate from each other. As is usual in orchids, one petal is highly modified as the central labellum. The labellum is shaped like a wingless insect, and is attached to the base of the column by a flexible, hinge-like "claw". The labellum is much smaller than in other orchids and is rod-like, fleshy and has many club-shaped hairs. The sexual parts of the flower are fused to the column, which has wing-like structures on its sides. Flowering occurs from October to January and is followed by a fruit which is a non-fleshy, glabrous, dehiscent capsule containing a large number of seeds.
...
Wikipedia