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Dave's Creek midge orchid facts for kids

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Dave's Creek midge orchid
Scientific classification
Genus:
Genoplesium
Species:
sigmoideum
Synonyms
  • Corunastylis sigmoidea (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

The Dave's Creek midge orchid (scientific name: Genoplesium sigmoideum) is a tiny orchid that grows only in a small part of Lamington National Park in Queensland, Australia. It has a single thin leaf that is joined to its flower stem. This special orchid can have up to twenty dark red flowers, each with a fuzzy lower lip called a labellum.

What Does It Look Like?

The Dave's Creek midge orchid is a plant that grows from an underground tuber (like a small potato). It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also a deciduous herb, so its leaves fall off at certain times of the year.

It has one thin leaf with a reddish base. This leaf is about 8 to 14 centimeters (3 to 5.5 inches) long. Part of the leaf is fused to the flowering stem, with a free tip about 1 to 1.5 centimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches) long.

The plant produces between five and twenty small flowers. These flowers are clustered along a stem that is 2 to 4 centimeters (0.8 to 1.6 inches) long. The whole plant can grow to be 10 to 18 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) tall.

The flowers are dark red and hang downwards. Each flower is about 3.5 millimeters (0.14 inches) wide. What's interesting is that the flowers are upside down! This means the labellum (the orchid's special lip) is above the column (the central part of the flower) instead of below it.

  • The dorsal sepal (the top part of the flower) is egg-shaped and curved inwards. It's about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long and 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inches) wide.
  • The lateral sepals (the side parts) are thin and pointed, about 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) long. They spread out wide and have a whitish gland (a small bump) at their tips.
  • The petals are also thin and egg-shaped, about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long. They have a clear S-shaped gland on their tips.
  • The labellum is oval-shaped, about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long and 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inches) wide. Its edges are covered with many short hairs. There's also a thick, dark purplish-red callus (a raised area) in the middle of the labellum.

These orchids usually bloom in December and January.

How It Got Its Name

The Dave's Creek midge orchid was first officially described in 1991 by a botanist named David Jones. He published its description in a scientific book called Australian Orchid Research.

Later, in 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements changed its scientific name to Corunastylis sigmoidea.

The second part of its scientific name, sigmoideum, comes from the S-shaped gland found on the petals of the flower.

Where It Lives

The Dave's Creek midge orchid grows in shallow soil on rock ledges. You can find it among low shrubs near a place called Dave's Creek, which is inside the Lamington National Park.

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