''Aphyllorchis anomala'', commonly known as the simple pauper orchid, is a leafless

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

mycotroph A mycotroph is a plant that gets all or part of its carbon, water, or nutrient supply through symbiotic association with fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes mic ...

ic orchid in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Orchidaceae. It has up to twenty white flowers with purple markings on a deep purple flowering stem and grows in shady rainforest in tropical north Queensland.

Description

''Aphyllorchis anomala'' is a leafless terrestrial, mycotrophic

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

that has a fleshy, brittle, shiny dark purple flowering stem with between four and twenty white flowers with purple markings. The flowers are long and wide. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

is long, about wide and forms a hood over the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. The

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may also refer to: Biology and healthcare * Lateral (anatomy), a term of location meaning "towards the side" * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, an intrinsic muscle of the larynx * Lateral release ( ...

sepals are a similar size, turn slightly downwards and spread widely apart from each other. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are about the same length but slightly narrower and often have twisted tips. The labellum is oblong, long, about wide and often has a twisted tip.

Taxonomy and naming

''Aphyllorchis anomala'' was first formally described in 1965 by Alick William Dockrill who published the description in ''The Orchadian''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''anomala'') is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word ''anomalos'' meaning "uneven", "irregular", "inconsistent", "abnormal", "unusual" or "deviating from the regular rule".

Distribution and habitat

The simple pauper orchid grows near sea level in moist, shady rainforest mainly between Rossville and the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It has very deep, rich basaltic soils and the main industry is agriculture. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the B ...

and near Airlie Beach.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15490295 anomala Plants described in 1965 Terrestrial orchids Orchids of Queensland