Narrow-leaved elbow orchid facts for kids

The Arthrochilus stenophyllus, also known as the narrow-leaved elbow orchid, is a special type of flowering plant in the orchid family. This amazing orchid is only found in Tropical North Queensland, Australia. It has dull green leaves that grow in a circle near the ground. Its flowers look a lot like insects and are pale green with dark red or brownish spots on their "lip" petal.

What Does the Narrow-Leaved Elbow Orchid Look Like?

The narrow-leaved elbow orchid is a plant that grows from the ground. It lives for many years and loses its leaves each year. It has a special underground part called a tuber, which is like a small potato. This tuber can grow new "baby" tubers on root-like parts called stolons.

At the bottom of the flowering stem, you'll find two to five dull green leaves. These leaves are long and narrow, about 1 to 2.5 centimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) long and 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) wide. They lie flat on the ground.

This orchid grows a tall stem, usually 6 to 25 centimeters (2.4 to 9.8 inches) high. On this stem, it can have between three and fifteen pale green flowers. Each flower is quite small, about 8 to 12 millimeters (0.3 to 0.5 inches) long, and looks like an insect!

The different parts of the flower are shaped in a unique way:

• The top petal (called the dorsal sepal) is long and wraps around the center part of the flower.
• The side petals and sepals (other flower parts) are curved and point backwards.
• The most interesting part is the "lip" petal, called the labellum. It's green with a dark red spot at its base. This labellum has a special insect-like shape with a few reddish, hair-like bumps.
• The central part of the flower, called the column, is curved and light green with some purple spots.

You can usually see these orchids flowering from December to February.

Naming the Narrow-Leaved Elbow Orchid

Every plant has a scientific name, and this orchid's is Arthrochilus stenophyllus. This name helps scientists around the world know exactly which plant they are talking about.

The name Arthrochilus stenophyllus was first officially described in 1991 by a botanist named David Jones. He found a sample of the plant near a place called Cardwell.

The second part of its scientific name, stenophyllus, comes from two old Ancient Greek words:

• Stenos means "narrow."
• Phyllon means "leaf."

So, stenophyllus simply means "narrow-leaved," which describes its leaves perfectly!

Where Does the Narrow-Leaved Elbow Orchid Live?

The narrow-leaved elbow orchid is found only in a small area near Cardwell in Tropical North Queensland. This means it is endemic to that region.

It likes to grow in open woodlands where there are sedges (grass-like plants) and shrubs. You can often find it under Melaleuca viridiflora trees.

How Does the Narrow-Leaved Elbow Orchid Reproduce?

Like other Arthrochilus orchids, the narrow-leaved elbow orchid has a clever way to get pollinated. It tricks male thynnid wasps into helping it! The orchid's flower looks and smells like a female wasp. When a male wasp tries to mate with the flower, it accidentally picks up pollen and then carries it to the next orchid, helping the plant reproduce.

Besides relying on wasps, this orchid can also make new plants on its own. It does this by growing new tubers underground, which then sprout into new orchids.