Turtle orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Turtle orchid |
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The turtle orchid, also known as Chiloglottis seminuda, is a special type of orchid. It grows only in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. This unique plant has two wide leaves and a single flower that can be green or reddish-pink. Its flower has a shiny black part that looks like an insect! This part covers most of the flower's lip, but the very tip is left bare.
What Does the Turtle Orchid Look Like?
The turtle orchid is a plant that grows from the ground. It's a perennial herb, meaning it lives for more than two years. It loses its leaves sometimes but grows them back. It has two leaves that are shaped like an oval or a long rectangle. These leaves are about 2.5 to 8.5 centimeters (1 to 3.3 inches) long and 1 to 1.8 centimeters (0.4 to 0.7 inches) wide. They grow on a small stem called a petiole, which is about 0.5 to 2 centimeters (0.2 to 0.8 inches) long.
A single flower grows on a stem that stands about 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) tall. The flower itself is about 1 to 1.4 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches) long.
- The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, stands straight up. It's shaped like a narrow spatula.
- The two side parts, called the lateral sepals, point downwards and away from each other.
- The petals are narrow and point downwards towards the ovary (where seeds are made).
- The most interesting part is the labellum, or the flower's lip. It's shaped like a diamond.
The labellum has a shiny black, insect-like part called a callus. This callus is about 1.8 millimeters (0.07 inches) long and covers about two-thirds of the labellum's base. Around this black callus, there are smaller, pink, club-shaped calli and tiny black ones closer to the tip. The last one-third of the labellum is completely bare, which is how the orchid got its name!
The column (the central part of the flower) is light green with dark purple spots. Turtle orchids usually bloom from January to April.
How Did the Turtle Orchid Get Its Name?
The turtle orchid, Chiloglottis seminuda, was officially described in 1991 by a botanist named David Jones. He found a sample of this orchid near a place called Penrose.
The second part of its scientific name, seminuda, helps us understand why it's called the "turtle orchid." It comes from two Latin words:
- Semi- means "a half."
- Nuda means "bare" or "naked."
So, seminuda means "half-bare." This name refers to the tip of the flower's lip (the labellum), which is bare and doesn't have the shiny black callus.
Where Does the Turtle Orchid Live?
The turtle orchid likes to grow in moist forests. You can mostly find it between the Blue Mountains and Clyde Mountain in New South Wales. There have also been a few times when it was found in Victoria, but it's much less common there.
