Lemon-scented midge orchid facts for kids

The lemon-scented midge orchid (scientific name: Genoplesium citriodorum) is a tiny and special type of orchid. It is found only in New South Wales, Australia. This small plant gets its name because its dark purplish-black flowers smell like lemons! It usually grows hidden under shrubs in sandy soil in the beautiful Blue Mountains. In Australia, it is also known as Corunastylis citriodorum.

What Does the Lemon-Scented Midge Orchid Look Like?

The lemon-scented midge orchid is a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also a deciduous herb, which means its leaves might fall off during certain seasons. This orchid grows from an underground tuber (a bit like a potato).

It has a single thin leaf that is about 200–300 mm (8–10 in) long. This leaf is joined to the flowering stem for most of its length. Only the top part, about 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long, is free.

Its Unique Flowers

Each plant can have between twenty and thirty-three small flowers. These flowers are dark purplish-black and grow on a stem about 30–40 mm (1–2 in) tall. The stem is usually taller than the leaf. Each flower is about 6 mm (0.24 in) long and 5 mm (0.20 in) wide and leans forward.

Like other orchids in its group, its flowers are upside down! This means the labellum (a special lip-like petal) is above the column (the part that holds the pollen) instead of below it.

The top sepal (a leaf-like part that protects the flower) is narrow and egg-shaped. It is about 5 mm (0.20 in) long with red lines and slightly hairy edges. The two side sepals are about 5.5 mm (0.2 in) long. They point downwards and spread wide apart.

The petals are narrow and egg-shaped, about 3.5 mm (0.1 in) long. They have clear stripes and hairy edges. The labellum is purple and also egg-shaped, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long. It has many hairs, up to 1 mm (0.04 in) long, along its edges. There is a dark reddish-purple raised area called a callus in the middle of the labellum. This callus extends about two-thirds of the way to the tip.

This orchid usually flowers between December and April.

How Did It Get Its Name?

The lemon-scented midge orchid was first officially described in 1991. Two botanists, David Jones and Mark Clements, gave it the scientific name Genoplesium citriodorum. They published their description in a research paper called Australian Orchid Research.

Later, in 2002, Jones and Clements changed its name to Corunastylis citriodora. The second part of its scientific name, citriodorum, comes from two Latin words. Citrea means "the citron-tree" (a type of citrus fruit), and odor means "smell". This name perfectly describes its strong lemon-scented flowers!

Where Does the Lemon-Scented Midge Orchid Live?

Genoplesium citriodorum is only found in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. It grows at high altitudes, between 900–1,200 m (3,000–4,000 ft) above sea level. You can usually find it growing under shrubs in shallow soil that lies over sandstone. Sometimes, it even grows in areas that are always wet.