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Diuris calcicola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diuris calcicola
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Diuris
Species:
D. calcicola
Binomial name
Diuris calcicola

Diuris brevifolia is a species of orchid that is endemic to South Australia. It usually has one or two grass-like leaves and a flowering stem with up to five bright yellow and reddish-brown flowers with purple stalks.

Description

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Diuris calcicola is a tuberous, terrestrial herb usually with one or two grass-like leaves 100–200 mm (3.9–7.9 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, often with a purplish base. Up to five bright yellow flowers with purple stalks and 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem 100–200 mm (3.9–7.9 in) tall. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, glossy yellow with two brown blotches, 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long, 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) wide, the lateral sepals green or purplish and linear, 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long, about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide and pendent. The petals are erect and glossy yellow on slender purplish stalks, 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) long and about 8 mm (0.31 in) wide. The labellum is yellow and brown with three lobes, the middle lobe spatula-shaped, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide with side lobes about 7 mm (0.28 in) long, 5 mm (0.20 in) wide and yellow with a few irregular reddish-brown markings.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

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Diuris calcicola was first formally described in 2015 by Robert John Bates in Australian Orchid Review from specimens he collected 50 km (31 mi) east of Kingston in 2013.[2][3] The specific epithet (calcicola) means "limestone favouring", referring to the preferred habitat of this species.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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This donkey orchid usually grows on limestone plains and rises, in mallee woodland or shrubland, sometimes in grassy woodland mostly to the east of the Murray River in south-eastern South Australia.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Diuris calcicola". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Bates, Robert J. (2015). "Diuris calcicola a new species of mallee donkey orchid from South Australia". Australian Orchid Review. 80 (5): 43–46. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Duiris calcicola". APNI. Retrieved 21 June 2023.