White cinnamon orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White cinnamon orchid |
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| Corymborkis veratrifolia in the Flecker Botanical Gardens | |
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Corymborkis
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| Species: |
veratrifolia
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The Corymborkis veratrifolia, also known as the white cinnamon orchid, is a special plant. It belongs to the orchid family. This orchid grows naturally in many places. You can find it from tropical and subtropical Asia all the way to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
This orchid is an evergreen plant. This means it keeps its leaves all year round. It grows on the ground, so it's a terrestrial orchid. It has a thin stem that stands straight up. Its leaves are papery and look like they have pleats. The plant also has short stems that produce flowers. These stems can have up to sixty flowers that are green and white. The flowers do not last very long.
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What Does the White Cinnamon Orchid Look Like?
The Corymborkis veratrifolia is a terrestrial plant. It is an evergreen herb, which means it has soft stems and lives for more than two years. It grows in groups or clumps. It has thin rhizomes, which are like underground stems. From these, thin, straight, and strong stems grow up to 0.5–1.5 m (2–5 ft) tall. These stems do not have branches.
Each plant has about six to fifteen long, narrow leaves. These leaves are usually 200–300 mm (8–10 in) long and 70–100 mm (3–4 in) wide. They are dark green and feel thin. They also have a wavy or corrugated look.
Its Flowers
The white cinnamon orchid produces many flowers, usually between twenty and sixty. These flowers grow close together on a branched stem. They smell like cinnamon! Each flower is about 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) wide and does not last long.
The flowers have green sepals. Sepals are like small leaves that protect the flower bud. These sepals are long and narrow, about 32–38 mm (1.3–1.5 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide. The petals are white and wavy. They are about 25–30 mm (0.98–1.2 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide.
The labellum is a special part of the orchid flower. It is pale white and about 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long. It has a narrow base that looks like a tube. The end part is wider and egg-shaped, with wavy edges.
This orchid blooms at different times depending on where it grows. In Australia, it flowers from December to March. In New Guinea, it blooms from December to July. In China, you can see its flowers in July.
How Did It Get Its Name?
The white cinnamon orchid was first officially described in 1825. A scientist named Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt gave it the name Hysteria veratrifolia. He wrote about it in a book called Sylloge Plantarum Novarum Itemque Minus Cognitarum a Praestantissimis Botanicis adhuc Viventibus Collecta et a Societate Regia Botanica Ratisbonensi Edita.
Later, in 1859, another scientist named Carl Ludwig Blume changed its name to Corymborkis veratrifolia. The second part of its name, veratrifolia, comes from two Latin words. "Veratrum" means "hellebore", which is another type of plant. "Folia" means "leaves". So, veratrifolia means "with leaves like a hellebore".
Where Does the White Cinnamon Orchid Grow?
The Corymborkis veratrifolia orchid likes to grow in shady spots. You can find it in forests and rainforests. It lives in many countries across Asia and the Pacific.
- China
- Taiwan
- Cambodia
- India
- Indonesia
- The Ryukyu Islands (in Japan)
- Laos
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
- Vietnam
- Islands in the southwest Pacific
- Northern Australia
In Australia, you can find this orchid growing between the Iron Range and Airlie Beach in Queensland.
