White mignonette orchid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Microtis
Species:
M. alba
Binomial name
Microtis alba
Synonyms[1]

Microtis alba, commonly known as the white mignonette orchid[2] or slender onion-orchid,[3] is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hollow, onion-like leaf and up to sixty small, green and white flowers with a strong musky fragrance. It is much more common after a fire the previous summer than in unburned country.

Description

Microtis alba is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, smooth, tubular leaf 100–500 mm (4–20 in) long and 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide. Between ten and sixty green and white flowers are arranged along a flowering stem 200–800 mm (8–30 in) tall. The flowers have a strong musky fragrance, lean downwards and are 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and forms a hood over the column. The lateral sepals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with their tips rolled under. The petals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and often curved. The labellum is oblong to wedge-shaped, 4–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) wide with wrinkled edges and a notched tip. Flowering occurs from October to January but much more prolifically after fire the previous summer.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Microtis alba was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1810 and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[5][6] The specific epithet (alba) is a Latin word meaning "white".[7]

Distribution and habitat

The white mignonette orchid grows in a range of habitats from seasonally wet flats to forest and occurs between Dongara and Israelite Bay.[2][3][4]

Conservation

Microtis alba is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Microtis alba". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 284. ISBN 9780980296457.
  3. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 222. ISBN 1877069124.
  4. 1 2 Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 337. ISBN 9780646562322.
  5. ↑ "Microtis alba". APNI. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae. London. p. 321. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 856.
  8. ↑ "Microtis alba". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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