Coastal mignonette orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Coastal mignonette orchid |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Microtis (plant)
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| Species: |
familiaris
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The Coastal mignonette orchid (scientific name: Microtis familiaris) is a special type of orchid that only grows in the coastal areas of Western Australia. It's also sometimes called the coastal onion orchid because its single leaf looks a bit like an onion. This orchid has small, green or yellowish flowers that smell sweet. It often grows near other Microtis orchids, but it only blooms after a bushfire has happened nearby.
What Does It Look Like?
The Coastal mignonette orchid is a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It grows from an underground tuber (like a small potato). It's also a deciduous plant, which means it loses its leaves at certain times of the year.
It has one tall, hollow leaf that looks like a tube. This leaf is usually about 80 to 200 millimeters (3 to 8 inches) long and 2 to 3 millimeters (about 0.1 inch) wide.
The plant produces between ten and twenty small flowers. These flowers are green to greenish-yellow and are spread out along a stem that can be 100 to 250 millimeters (4 to 10 inches) tall. Each flower is about 2 to 2.5 millimeters (0.08 to 0.1 inch) long and about 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) wide. They have a sweet smell.
The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, is shaped like an egg and covers the other parts like a hood. The side sepals are narrow and curve backward. The petals are small and partly hidden by the dorsal sepal. The bottom lip of the flower, called the labellum, is oblong and has a special raised area in its middle.
These orchids usually flower in December and January, but only if there was a bushfire in the area during the previous summer.
How It Got Its Name
The Coastal mignonette orchid, Microtis familiaris, was officially named in 1990 by a scientist named Robert John Bates. He found a sample of this orchid near Denmark.
The second part of its scientific name, familiaris, comes from a Latin word that means "of a family" or "domestic." This name was chosen because this orchid is often found growing together with other types of Microtis orchids, almost like they are part of the same family.
Where Does It Live?
This special orchid only grows in the coastal areas of Western Australia. You can find it in swampy areas between Augusta and Esperance. These areas are part of the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, and Warren biogeographic regions.
Is It Safe?
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has classified Microtis familiaris as "not threatened." This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
