''Burnettia cuneata'', commonly known as the lizard orchid,
is the only species of the
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Burnettia'' in the orchid
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
Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...
. It 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
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 ...
with one or two leaf-like
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s and up to seven flowers that are brownish on the back and pink or white inside. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to southeastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
where it grows in dense thickets in swamps.
Description
''Burnettia cuneata'' is a leafless, mycotrophic herb with a single leaf-like, lance-shaped to egg-shaped bract long and wide near its base. The fleshy, dark purplish brown flowering stem is high and bears up to seven flowers. The flowers are long, wide, brownish on the back and pink or white inside. The
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'' ...
s and
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 lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide with 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 forming 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
labellum has dark red stripes and is wedge-shaped, long with two longitudinal ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs between September and December but nearly always only after fires the previous summer.
Taxonomy and naming
''Burnettia cuneata'' was first formally described in 1840 by
John Lindley
John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist.
Early years
Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...
from a specimen collected in
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
and the description was published in his book ''
The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants''.
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 ...
(''cuneata'') is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning "wedge-shaped".
Distribution and habitat
The lizard orchid grows in dense thickets of ''
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
'' and ''
Leptospermum
''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...
'' in near coastal swamps in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Tasmania and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
. In New South Wales it occurs south from the
Blue Mountains and in Victoria between
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
and
Mallacoota
Mallacoota is a town in the East Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Mallacoota had a population of 1,183. It is the last official township on Victoria's east coast before the border with New South Wales. ...
with a
disjunct population in the
Grampians
The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...
.
See also
*
List of Orchidaceae genera
This is a list of genera in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), originally according tThe Families of Flowering Plants- L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz. This list is adapted regularly with the changes published in the ''Orchid Research Newsletter'' which ...
References
External links
Retired Aussies, ''Burnettia cuneata'', Lizard OrchidFlickr, Malcolm, ''Burnettia cuneata''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q311032, from2=Q15117465
Monotypic Orchidoideae genera
Diurideae genera
Orchids of Australia
Orchids of Victoria (state)
Orchids of New South Wales
Orchids of Tasmania
Megastylidinae
Plants described in 1840