Blotched pineapple orchid facts for kids

The blotched pineapple orchid (its scientific name is Bulbophyllum bracteatum) is a special type of orchid. It gets its common name from its spotted flowers and how its stems look a bit like a pineapple. This orchid grows naturally only in eastern Australia.

It often lives on other plants, like trees, or sometimes on rocks. It has thick stems, pale green or yellow leaves, and pretty cream or yellow flowers with purple or red spots. You'll usually find it high up in rainforest trees.

What does the blotched pineapple orchid look like?

The blotched pineapple orchid is a type of herb. It mostly grows on other plants, which is called being an epiphyte. Sometimes, it can also grow on rocks, which means it's a lithophyte.

It has many crowded, wrinkled stems called pseudobulbs. These pseudobulbs are pale green or yellowish. They are about 7 to 12 mm (0.3 to 0.5 inches) long and 6 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide.

The leaves are thin and feel a bit like leather. They are shaped like an oval or a narrow rectangle. Each leaf is about 15 to 30 mm (0.6 to 1.2 inches) long and 7 to 10 mm (0.3 to 0.4 inches) wide.

This orchid produces between five and twenty-five flowers. The flowers are cream-coloured or yellowish. They are small, about 3 to 4 mm (0.1 to 0.2 inches) long and 5 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.24 inches) wide. These flowers grow on a bluish stem that is 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 inches) long. This stem has many small leaf-like parts called bracts.

The flower parts include sepals, which are about 3 to 4 mm long. The petals are smaller, about 2 mm long and less than 1 mm wide. The middle part of the flower, called the labellum, is yellow, thick, and fleshy. It's about 2 mm long and 1 mm wide. This orchid usually blooms between October and December.

How did the blotched pineapple orchid get its name?

The blotched pineapple orchid was first officially described in 1891. A scientist named Robert D. FitzGerald gave it the name Adelopetalum bracteatum. He wrote about it in a science journal called Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. He studied a plant sample found near the Tweed River.

Later that same year, another scientist, Frederick Manson Bailey, changed its name to Bulbophyllum bracteatum. The second part of its scientific name, bracteatum, comes from a Latin word. The Latin word bractea means "small leaf." This refers to the small leaf-like parts (bracts) found on the flower stem.

Where does the blotched pineapple orchid live?

The Bulbophyllum bracteatum orchid mostly grows on the very highest branches of rainforest trees. It rarely grows on rock faces. You can find this orchid in a region stretching from the Bunya Mountains in Queensland down to the Dorrigo Plateau in New South Wales.