''Cyrtostylis'', commonly known as gnat orchids, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of five or six species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the orchid

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

and is native to Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. Cyrtostylis orchids often form dense colonies of genetically identical plants. They have a single heart-shaped leaf and a thin flowering stem with pale coloured insect-like flowers. The lateral

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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s are similar in size and colour but the labellum is shelf-like and conspicuous with two prominent glands at its base.

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Cyrtostylis'' are terrestrial,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

herbs, usually with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and one or two

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s. They often form dense colonies of cloned plants. There is a single green, heart-shaped, ground-hugging leaf at the base of the flowering stem. The thin flowering stem bears one to a few flowers with 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 ...

at the top. The flowers are usually pale coloured with an erect dorsal sepal and spreading lateral sepals and petals. The petals and sepals are narrow lance-shaped and about as long as each other and the dorsal sepal. The labellum is stalkless, oblong and about as long as the sepals and petals with two bead-like glands and two ridges along its length. The

is curved with wings and is about half as long as the labellum. Orchids in this genus are similar to those in '' Acianthus'' but lack the long

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including ant ...

on the ends of the sepals and petals of that genus. The lateral sepals differ from the petals in ''Acianthus''.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae''. He described '' Cyrtostylis reniformis'' at the same time, making it the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

species. The name ''Cyrtostylis'' is derived from the Greek words ''cyrtos'' meaning 'curved' and ''stylos'', 'pertaining to the style', referring to the curved column found in all members of this genus. The

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pl ...

lists five species of ''Cyrtostlyis'' but Australian authorities list six. The difference lies in the interpretation of '' Cyrtostylis huegelii'' which the Checklist considers a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

of ''Cyrtostylis reniformis'' var. ''huegelii''. * '' Cyrtostylis oblonga'' Hook.f. (New Zealand) * '' Cyrtostylis reniformis'' R.Br - common gnat orchid (all 6 states of Australia) * '' Cyrtostylis robusta'' D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem - large gnat orchid (S.A., W.A., Tas., Vic.) * '' Cyrtostylis rotundifolia'' Hook.f. (New Zealand) * '' Cyrtostylis tenuissima'' (Nicholls & Goadby) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. - dwarf gnat orchid (W.A.)

References

* * (2001) Orchidoideae (Part 1). Genera Orchidacearum 2: 75 ff. Oxford University Press.

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1319321 Diurideae genera Orchids of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of New Zealand Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)