Pseudovanilla foliata
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Pseudovanilla foliata |
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| ( F.Muell. ) Garay |
Pseudovanilla foliata is a plant type from the family of orchids (Orchidaceae).
features
Pseudovanilla foliata is a mycotrophic , climbing plant with a yellowish-green stem that is up to 15 meters long. The root system is extensive in the substrate , but also along the whole trunk alternately branched and unbranched roots grow like leaflets as a climbing aid.
The plant has no leaves . Deciduous, individual, oval to egg-shaped stipules grow alternately at the nodes . They reach a length of 20 to 60 millimeters and are between 10 and 50 millimeters wide.
blossoms
During the flowering period from October to January, the plants form ten to fifteen 50 to 200 centimeters long, terminal panicles with 20 to 150 individual flowers from the axils of the upper stipules. All flowers of a panicle develop completely as buds and then open (triggered by environmental influences) at the same time.
The flowers are 3 to 4 centimeters in diameter. The fleshy and fragile, sickle-shaped bracts are greenish-white, white or golden-yellow, 15 to 25 millimeters long and 4 to 5.5 millimeters wide. The rear sepal is bent over the center of the flower, the lateral ones diverge diagonally to the side. The likewise sickle-shaped petals are bent upright.
The labellum is designed like a landing pad facing forward, it has a diameter of 12 to 18 millimeters. Tubular at the base, it widens sharply downwards and to the side and is densely covered with numerous, strong papillae . At the edges it is very wrinkled, the right and left wings are colored orange-red in the middle, at the edges and in the center the labellum is white.
The flowers have a distinct honey scent, which they use to attract bees to pollinate. They wilt after a day or two. Pollinated flowers form cylindrical, 150 to 250 millimeters long and 15 to 25 millimeters thick seed pods .
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to Papua New Guinea and - as the only species of the genus - in eastern Australia ( Queensland , New South Wales ). It is found at altitudes from 0 to 800 meters.
Pseudovanilla foliata thrives in forests in wet locations and at the edges of water at subtropical to tropical temperatures. It occurs only in locations with disturbed vegetation, where large amounts of nutrients are released by rotting organic material, e.g. B. after earthworks, logging, but also after storms that have cut aisles in forests. As the vegetation recovers, the species disappears again.
Botanical history
The species was first described in 1861 by Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Müller as Erythrorchis foliata , but was rewritten by him as Galeola foliata in 1873 . In 1986 it was described by Leslie Andrew Garay as Pseudovanilla foliata .
swell
- David L. Jones: A complete guide to native orchids of Australia: including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, 2006, ISBN 1-877069-12-4 , p. 373.
