Burnettia cuneata

Burnettia cuneata
	Burnettia cuneata
Systematics
Family :	Orchids (orchidaceae)
Subfamily :	Orchidoideae
Tribe :	Diurideae
Sub tribus :	Megastylidinae
Genre :	Burnettia
Type :	Burnettia cuneata
Scientific name of the genus
	Burnettia
	Lindl.
Scientific name of the species
	Burnettia cuneata
	Lindl.

The orchid Burnettia cuneata , the only species of the genus Burnettia , is a small, herbaceous plant. Their distribution area is in the southeast of Australia and Tasmania . It does not form leaves , but rather feeds on mycoheterotroph , so it gets its nutrients from a fungus. Flowers appear mainly after bush fires, the plant probably dies after a single flowering.

description

Illustration of Burnettia cuneata

Burnettia cuneata forms an oval, fleshy tuber and some fibrous roots underground . During the flowering period, the tuber uses up its reserves and is not replaced by other tubers. The shoot reaches a height of 3 to 13 cm. It is partially surrounded by lower leaves, the color of the whole plant is reddish brown. The top of the lower leaves is slightly enlarged like a leaf and reaches a length of 10 to 20 mm with a width of 6 to 8 mm.

The racemose , terminal inflorescence consists of one to seven flowers. They are brownish on the outside, pink to white on the inside, the lip has darker reddish stripes. The flowers are resupinated . The petals are not fused together. The upper sepal is relatively wide and forms a hood over the flower. The lateral sepals and the petals are wide spread or slightly knocked back. Except for the lip, the petals measure 10 to 13 mm long and 2.5 to 4 mm wide. The lip is shorter and wider, inverted-ovoid, weakly three-lobed at the base. There are two longitudinal calluses on the lip. The column is relatively long and narrow, slightly curved, with narrow wings on the sides. The stamen contains two granular, yellow pollinia that do not require an adhesive disc (Viscidium). The scar consists of a small, inwardly curved area. The capsule fruit stands upright, the dried flower remains stick to the fruit. The small seeds are winged.

distribution

Burnettia cuneata is known from a few occurrences in southeast Australia. It inhabits locations in the states of New South Wales , Victoria and Tasmania , from sea level to about 600 meters above sea level. The occurrences are in bush-lined swamps on boggy ground.

ecology

This orchid is tied to populations of the myrtle heather Melaleuca squarrosa . It probably gets its nutrients from a mycorrhizal fungus on this shrub. The mushrooms belong to the genus Tulasnella . The flowering occurs mainly after summer bush fires in the following spring (September to December). Large blooming populations can then occur locally. Even in the years after a fire, you can still find isolated flowering plants. Pollination is probably carried out by small bees; it is unclear whether the plants offer nectar. After flowering, the plant dies, and the populations depend on seed reproduction for maintenance.

Systematics and botanical history

The genus Burnettia with the only species Burnetiia cuneata was established by Lindley in 1840 . The name Burnettia honors the botanist Gilbert Thomas Burnett (1800 - 1835). At the same time, Lindley arranged the genus in the tribe Diurideae , an assignment that is still made today. Within this tribe Burnettia is in the subtribe Megastylidinae .

literature

Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase, Finn Rasmussen (Eds.): Genera Orchidacearum. Orchidoideae (Part one) . tape 2 . Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-850710-0 .
David L. Jones: Native Orchids of Australia . Reed New Holland, 2006, ISBN 1-877069-12-4 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase, Finn Rasmussen (eds.): Genera Orchidacearum . Vol. 2, pp. 157-159.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e David L. Jones: Native Orchids of Australia . P. 367.
^ Robert L. Dressler: Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-45058-6 , pp. 131 .
↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Burnettia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 8, 2018.
↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]

Web links

Commons : Burnettia cuneata - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikispecies: Burnettia cuneata - Species directory

[GO-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip Cribb, Mark W. Chase, Finn Rasmussen (eds.): Genera Orchidacearum . Vol. 2, pp. 157-159.

[Jones-2] David L. Jones: Native Orchids of Australia . P. 367.

[Dressler-3] Robert L. Dressler: Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family . Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-45058-6 , pp. 131 .

[WCSP-4] Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Burnettia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 8, 2018.

[Burkhardt2018-5] Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]