Blue Mountains midge orchid facts for kids

The Genoplesium simulans, often called the Blue Mountains midge orchid, is a small type of orchid. It grows from the ground and is found only in one special place: the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia. This makes it an endemic species. The plant has one thin leaf and can grow up to twenty-three dark purplish-black flowers that usually point downwards.

What Does It Look Like?

The Blue Mountains midge orchid is a perennial plant, meaning it lives for many years. It grows from an underground tuber, which is like a small storage root. It has a single thin leaf that can be from 120–400 mm (5–20 in) long. The top part of the leaf, which is free from the stem, is about 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) long.

This orchid produces between five and twenty-three dark purplish-black flowers. These flowers grow along a stem that is 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long. The whole plant can reach a height of 160–460 mm (6–20 in). Each flower is about 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide and leans downwards.

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

• The dorsal sepal (the top part of the flower) is broadly egg-shaped. It is about 5 mm (0.2 in) long and 4 mm (0.2 in) wide. It is purple with darker stripes and has tiny hairs along its edges, up to 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long.
• The lateral sepals (the two side parts) are long and narrow, about 7 mm (0.3 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide. They are dark reddish-purple and spread out wide.
• The petals are narrow and egg-shaped, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. They are greenish-purple with darker stripes and a few hairs on their edges.
• The labellum is narrow and egg-shaped, about 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. It has dark purplish-black hairs along its edges.
• In the middle of the labellum, there is a purplish-black, pointed callus. This covers about half of the labellum's surface.

This orchid usually flowers between January and March.

How It Got Its Name

The Blue Mountains midge orchid was first officially described in 1991 by a botanist named David Jones. He published his description in a scientific paper called Australian Orchid Research. Later, in 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements changed its scientific name to Corunastylis simulans.

The second part of its scientific name, simulans, comes from a Latin word. It means "imitating" or "copying." This name was chosen because this orchid looks very similar to another orchid species called G. morissii.

Where Does It Live?

Genoplesium simulans grows in forests. It also likes to grow among mosses in shallow soil that covers sandstone rocks. You can find it mainly in the Blue Mountains region and further south towards Mount Keira.