Corsia ornata
| Corsia ornata | ||||||||||||
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Corsia ornata in situ |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Corsia ornata | ||||||||||||
| Becc. |
Corsia ornata is a loose leaf green plant type from the family of Corsiaceae . It was the first described species of the genus.
features
Like all species of the genus also has Corsia omata the photosynthesis abandoned and therefore forms no chlorophyll more. Instead, it lives myco-heterotrophically on a fungus .
Corsia ornata is a perennial plant that only grows above ground during flowering. From the short, creeping rhizome sprouts an up to 25 centimeters long, cylindrical and finely grooved, unbranched and upright stem. The 1 to 2 centimeter long foliage is reduced to sheath-shaped scaly leaves and grows alternately along the entire stem. The entire plant has a purple base color above ground.
The upright individual flowers are terminal and stand on flower stalks that are 2.5 to 4 inches long. Of the six petals (three tepals each in two petal circles ) five are linear, pale yellow, 11 to 13 millimeters long, single-nerved and hairless. The top sixth, the so-called labellum , is either light yellow to light purple with dark veins or brown-purple, greatly enlarged (1.2 to 1.8 centimeters long, 1 to 1.6 centimeters wide) and heart-shaped. It initially surrounds the flower bud and, after opening, covers the other flower organs protectively. At the base, the labellum is directly fused with the 1 millimeter long gynostemium , the callus is white, broadly shell-shaped, 2 to 3.5 millimeters long and around 2.5 millimeters wide and finely papilous at the edges.
Distribution area
Corsia ornata was found in several, sometimes widely spaced locations in western New Guinea , including in particular on the Vogelkop peninsula . A single find has also been reported from Queensland , Australia, making it the only species of the genus that grows outside of New Guinea. It is native to forests at altitudes of 400 to 2100 meters on humus soils.
Systematics
Corsia ornata was first described as the first species of the genus in 1877 by Odoardo Beccari and is therefore the type species of the genus . It is placed in this in the sessilis section , as the labellum is directly fused with the gynostemium.
literature
Much of the information in this article has been obtained from the following sources:
- P. Van Royen: Sertulum Papuanum 17. Corsiaceae of New Guinea and surrounding areas in: Webbia 27: 223-255, 1972