Fleshy threadroot facts for kids

The Fleshy Threadfoot (scientific name: Taeniophyllum clementsii) is a very special type of orchid. It gets its common name because its roots look like thick, fleshy threads! This orchid is an epiphyte, which means it grows on other plants, like trees, but it doesn't take food from them. It just uses them for support.

Unlike most plants, the Fleshy Threadfoot doesn't have leaves. Instead, it has short stems and flat, green roots that stick tightly to the tree it lives on. It can grow between five and fifty small, pale green, tube-shaped flowers. These flowers grow on a zig-zag stem and open one at a time. This unique orchid only grows in a small part of tropical North Queensland, Australia.

What is the Fleshy Threadfoot?

The Fleshy Threadfoot is a leafless herb that grows as a single plant. It has a tiny stem, only about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) long. Its flat, green roots are much longer, about 20 to 40 millimeters (0.8 to 1.6 inches) long and 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. These roots are photosynthetic, meaning they can make food for the plant using sunlight, just like leaves do for other plants. They press flat against the surface where the orchid grows.

This orchid produces between five and fifty small, green, tube-shaped flowers. Each flower is about 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inches) long. They are resupinate, which means they are twisted upside down. The flowers open one at a time on a flowering stem that grows longer as each new flower appears. This stem can be 10 to 30 millimeters (0.4 to 1.2 inches) long.

The parts of the flower, like the sepals and petals, are very tiny, less than 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long and less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. The labellum (a special petal in orchids) is shaped like a triangle, about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) long. It has a thin extra part and a rounded spur (a small pouch). You can usually see these orchids flowering from July to October.

How it Got its Name

The Fleshy Threadfoot was first officially described in 2006. Two botanists, David Jones and Bruce Gray, gave it the name Microtatorchis clementsii. They published their description in a magazine called The Orchadian. Later, in 2014, two other scientists, Alexander Kocyan and André Schuiteman, changed its name to Taeniophyllum clementsii. This is the name it is known by today.

Where Does it Live?

The Fleshy Threadfoot grows on trees in high-altitude rainforests. You can often find it near the ends of tree branches. This orchid is only known to live in two specific places in Queensland, Australia: the Paluma Range National Park and the Mount Windsor National Park.