Red beaks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red beaks |
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| Pyrorchis nigricans growing near Lake King | |
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Lyperanthus nigricans R.Br. |
Pyrorchis nigricans, commonly known as red beaks, is a special type of orchid that only grows in Australia. You can find it in most Australian states, but not in Queensland or the Northern Territory. This plant has one big, oval-shaped leaf. It also has up to eight pretty red and white flowers. Red beaks usually bloom after a hot bushfire.
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What Red Beaks Look Like
Red beaks is a plant that grows from an underground tuber (like a small potato). It lives for many years and loses its leaves in some seasons. It has one dark green leaf with red marks. This leaf is mostly oval and about 5 to 6 centimeters (2 to 2.4 inches) wide. It lies flat on the ground.
The plant grows a thick, fleshy stem that is about 5 to 30 centimeters (2 to 12 inches) tall. On this stem, you'll find between two and eight flowers. These flowers are reddish-purple and white. They are about 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) long and wide. Each flower has a large leaf-like part called a bract at its base.
The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, is light with reddish stripes. It is shaped like a spearhead and is about 2 to 2.5 centimeters (0.8 to 1 inch) long. Its edges curl inwards. The side sepals and petals are long and thin, about the same size as the dorsal sepal, but they spread out more.
The labellum is a special lip-like part of the flower. It gently curves near its base and then sharply bends downwards at its tip. It is white with red lines and has a frilly edge. Red beaks usually flower from August to November. This often happens after a hot bushfire from the previous summer.
How Red Beaks Got Its Name
The red beaks orchid was first officially described in 1810 by a botanist named Robert Brown. He first named it Lyperanthus nigricans. He wrote about it in a book called Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.
Later, in 1994, two other botanists, David Jones and Mark Clements, changed its name to Pyrorchis nigricans. The second part of its name, nigricans, is a Latin word. It means "blackish" or "dark". This name was chosen because all parts of the plant turn a very dark black color as they get older or when they dry out.
Where Red Beaks Grow
Red beaks can be found in different places, from open heathlands to forests. However, they usually only flower after a hot bushfire happened the summer before. Some groups of these plants can flower without a fire, though.
In Western Australia, you can find red beaks from Shark Bay in the north down to Israelite Bay in the east. It is also common in southern and far western Victoria. In New South Wales, it grows in coastal areas south of Myall Lakes. You can also find it in the south-east of South Australia and in Tasmania, as well as on the larger Bass Strait islands.
Conservation Status
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife says that Pyrorchis nigricans is "not threatened". This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.
