Gastrodia lacista, commonly known as the western potato orchid,[2] is a leafless terrestrial mycotrophic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has a thin brown flowering stem with up to fifty small, drooping, fawn and white, tube-shaped flowers. It grows in forest and woodland in the south-west of Western Australia.
| Western potato orchid | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Gastrodieae |
| Genus: | Gastrodia |
| Species: | G. lacista
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gastrodia lacista | |
Description
editGastrodia lacista is a leafless terrestrial, mycotrophic herb that has a thin, brown crook-like flowering stem bearing between five and fifty drooping, fawn and white, tube-shaped flowers that are warty outside and white inside. The sepals and petals are joined, forming a tube 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. The petals have a few blunt teeth on the edges. The labellum is 9–10 mm (0.4–0.4 in) long, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide and white with irregular edges. Flowering occurs from November to January.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy and naming
editGastrodia lacista was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Albany in 1989. The description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[6] The specific epithet (lacista) is a Latin word meaning "torn"[7] referring to the edges of the labellum.[3]
Distribution and habitat
editThe western potato orchid grows in woodland and forest in leaf litter between Bunbury and Albany.[2][3][4][5][8]
References
edit- ^ "Gastrodia lacista". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- ^ a b c Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 371–372. ISBN 1877069124.
- ^ a b c David L., Jones (1991). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 2: 64.
- ^ a b Brown, Andrew; Dixon, Kingsley; French, Christopher; Brockman, Garry (2013). Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia. Simon Nevill Publications. pp. 266–267. ISBN 9780980348149.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. pp. 384–385. ISBN 9780646562322.
- ^ "Gastrodia lacista". APNI. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 784.
- ^ "Gastrodia lacista". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.