''Pyrorchis'', commonly known as beak orchids, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the orchid family,

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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It contains two species which were previously included in the genus ''

Lyperanthus ''Lyperanthus'', commonly known as beak orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid Family (biology), family, Orchidaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to Australia. There are two species, one in Western Australia and the other in four e ...

'', also known as beak orchids. Both species have fleshy, oval leaves and form colonies which flower profusely after bushfires.

Description

Orchids in the genus ''Pyrorchis'' 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, aft ...

, sympodial herbs with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and an oval-shaped

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 growing ...

lacking a protective

sheath Sheath pronounced as , may refer to: * Scabbard, a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade, as well as guns, such as rifles. * The outer covering of a cable * Condom, a kind of contraception * Debye sheath, a layer of a plasma in ...

. Replacement tubers are formed on the end of long, thin root-like

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s. There are between one and three broad, fleshy, egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves at the base of the plant. The leaves are long, wide and bright green, sometimes with black markings. There are up to eight

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s on a stalk high. The stalk is often surrounded by two or three loose, leaf-like

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s up to long. The dorsal

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 b ...

is lance-shaped, about long 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 sepals are about the same length and the same size and shape as the petals. As is usual in orchids, one petal is highly modified as the central labellum. The labellum is gently curved near its base where it encloses the base of the

but more strongly curved near its tip, which is deeply fringed. The column is about , straight or gently curved with the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

at its tip. Flowering occurs between August and early December, depending on species and the fruit that follows flowering is a non-fleshy,

dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

capsule containing up to 500 seeds. Undertaker Orchid 2

Taxonomy and naming

Robert Brown first formally described ''Lyperanthus nigricans'' in 1810, publishing the description in '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae''. In 1994, David Jones and Mark Clements described the genus ''Pyrorchis'' and included the species that Brown had described. The name "''Pyrorchis''" is derived from the

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

word ''pyr'' meaning "fire" and ''orchis'' meaning "orchid". There are two species: *'' Pyrorchis forrestii'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victo ...

)

D.L.Jones David Lloyd Jones (born 1944) is an Australians, Australian horticultural botanist and the author of many books and papers, especially on Australian orchids. Jones was born in Victoria (Australia), Victoria and in his youth was a student at Burnl ...

M.A.Clem. Mark Alwin Clements (b. 1949) is an Australian botanist and orchidologist. He obtained his doctorate at the Australian National University defending his thesis entitled ''Reproductive Biology in relation to phylogeny of the Orchidaceae, espe ...

– pink beaks (Western Australia) *'' Pyrorchis nigricans'' ( R.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. – red beaks, elephants' ears ( N.S.W., Victoria,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and A.C.T.)

Distribution and habitat

''Pyrorchis forrestii'' is only found in the south-west of

between Augusta and

Waychinicup National Park Waychinicup National Park is in Western Australia, southeast of Perth and east of Albany, along the coast of the Southern Ocean. Location and description The park is bordered by the Southern Ocean to the south, Mount Manypeaks Nature Reserv ...

where it grows near the margins of swamps or near creeks. ''Pyrorchis nigricans'' occurs much more widely, growing in N.S.W., Victoria,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and the A.C.T. in a range of moist habitats. In drier areas of Western Australia, it is usually found in moist places near

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

outcrops.

Ecology

Both species of ''Pyrorchis'' produce small amounts of nectar and have a strong, sweet smell, especially in hot weather, suggesting pollination by bees although only ''P. forrestii'' has brightly coloured flowers. Both species flower profusely after fire, sometimes after other kinds of disturbance such as

mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers ...

, otherwise only one or two are seen after hot summer days.

Conservation

Both species of ''Pyrorchis'' are classified as "Not Threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

External links

*
Retired Aussies, ''Pyrorchis nigricans'', Undertaker Orchid
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3292390 Diurideae genera