Brindabella potato orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brindabella potato orchid |
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| Gastrodia entomogama in the Namadgi National Park | |
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| Genus: |
Gastrodia
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| Species: |
entomogama
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The Brindabella potato orchid (scientific name: Gastrodia entomogama) is a special kind of orchid. It grows on the ground and does not have any leaves. This orchid gets its food from fungi in the soil, which is why it's called "mycotrophic." It belongs to the large family of orchids known as Orchidaceae.
This unique plant has a dark brown or black stem that grows flowers. It can have up to sixty brown, warty, tube-shaped flowers. The Brindabella potato orchid is mostly found in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia.
What Does the Brindabella Potato Orchid Look Like?
The Brindabella potato orchid is a herb that grows from the ground. It doesn't have any leaves, which is unusual for a plant! Instead, it has a thick, fleshy stem that can be dark brown or almost black.
This stem holds between five and sixty flowers. These flowers are light to dark brown and shaped like tubes. The outside of the flowers feels rough and warty, but the inside is white. The sepals and petals of the flower are joined together, forming a tube about 15 to 20 millimeters (0.6 to 0.8 inches) long. The edges of the petals are often wavy.
Inside the flower, there's a special part called the labellum. It is about 14 to 17 millimeters (0.55 to 0.67 inches) long and 6.5 to 8 millimeters (0.26 to 0.31 inches) wide. The labellum is white with bright orange edges. These orchids usually flower from December to January. Interestingly, their flowers can pollinate themselves, meaning they don't always need insects to help them reproduce.
How the Brindabella Orchid Got Its Name
The Brindabella potato orchid was first officially described in 1991. A botanist named David Jones found a sample of this orchid on Mount Franklin in 1990. He then wrote about it in a scientific paper called Australian Orchid Research.
The scientific name, entomogama, comes from two Ancient Greek words. "Entomon" means "insect," and "gamos" means "marriage" or "union." When the orchid was first described, scientists thought insects helped pollinate its flowers. So, the name refers to the idea of "insect marriage" or "union," even though we now know they can self-pollinate.
Where Does This Orchid Live?
The Brindabella potato orchid likes to grow in forests. It is often found among shrubs and grasses. This special orchid is only known for sure from a few places. All of these locations are within the Australian Capital Territory in Australia.
