Closed burr orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Closed burr orchid |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Dendrobium
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| Species: |
reconditum
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| Synonyms | |
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The closed burr orchid (Dendrobium reconditum) is a special type of orchid. It is also known as the closed burr orchid because its flowers never fully open. This plant is an epiphyte, which means it grows on other plants, like trees, but it does not harm them. It gets its food from the air and rain.
This unique orchid is only found on Moa Island in the Torres Strait, Australia. It has one thin leaf on a slender stem. Its small, white flowers are almost round and stay closed. You can find it growing on trees with rough bark in rainforests.
What Does It Look Like?
The closed burr orchid is a plant that grows on other plants. It usually forms small groups or clumps. Its stem is flat and about 40 to 70 millimeters (1.6 to 2.8 inches) long. The stem is also very thin, only about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide.
Each orchid has a single, thin, dark green leaf. This leaf is typically 30 to 70 millimeters (1.2 to 2.8 inches) long and 10 to 15 millimeters (0.4 to 0.6 inches) wide.
The orchid produces a single white flower. This flower is almost perfectly round and about 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) across. It has small, fleshy bumps, called tubercles, on its base. A very interesting fact about this orchid is that its flower never opens! It stays closed even when it's ready to make seeds. This happens between January and July.
How It Got Its Name
The closed burr orchid was first officially described in 2006. Two scientists, David Jones and Mark Clements, found a sample of it on Moa Peak. This is a mountain on the northern part of Moa Island. They first named it Cadetia clausa. This description was published in a science book called Australian Orchid Research.
Later, in 2011, two other scientists, André Schuiteman and Peter Adams, changed its name to Dendrobium reconditum. They did this after studying its molecular phylogenetics, which is like looking at the plant's family tree using its DNA.
The second part of its scientific name, reconditum, comes from a Latin word. It means "hidden" or "concealed." This name was chosen because the orchid's flowers are cleistogamous. This means they stay closed and hidden, never opening up.
Where Does It Live?
The closed burr orchid grows on trees with rough bark. It prefers to live in rainforests on low hills. So far, this special orchid has only been found on Moa Island. This makes it a very rare and unique plant!
