Townsonia viridis facts for kids

The beech orchid (scientific name: Townsonia viridis) is a special type of orchid that only grows in Tasmania, Australia. It forms small groups of plants with tiny flowers that are hard to spot. It also has small, roundish leaves. You can usually find this orchid growing in mossy areas within forests where myrtle beech trees grow.

What Does the Beech Orchid Look Like?

The beech orchid is a land plant that lives for many years (it's a perennial). It's a deciduous plant, meaning its leaves fall off at certain times of the year, usually in winter. This orchid grows in small groups, and its underground storage parts, called tubers, are connected by a fleshy root. It spreads out through moss and fallen leaves on the forest floor.

Each tuber grows one or two leaves. Both plants that flower and those that don't have a very thin, upright leaf that comes out of the ground. These leaves are light green to yellowish and have wavy edges. They are about 6 to 15 millimeters (0.2 to 0.6 inches) long and 5 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. They have a stem-like part called a petiole that is 30 to 50 millimeters (1.2 to 2.0 inches) long.

Flowering plants also have a similar leaf on their flower stem, but this leaf doesn't have a petiole and grows higher up from the ground.

Flowers of the Beech Orchid

The beech orchid can have up to four flowers on a delicate, fleshy stem that is 50 to 150 millimeters (2 to 6 inches) tall. Each flower is small, about 5 to 7 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long and 6 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. The flowers are green with red spots.

• The top part of the flower, called the sepal (the dorsal sepal), is about 6.5 to 8 millimeters (0.26 to 0.31 inches) long and 4 millimeters (0.16 inches) wide. It forms a hood over the central part of the flower, known as the column.
• The side sepals (lateral sepals) are similar in length to the top sepal but only half as wide.
• The petals are small, about 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inches) long and 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide, and they spread out.
• The labellum (which is a special petal in orchids) is shaped like a wide egg. It's about 5 to 6 millimeters (0.20 to 0.24 inches) long and wide, folded lengthwise, with its tip pointing downwards.

The beech orchid usually flowers from November to January.

How the Beech Orchid Got Its Name

The beech orchid was first officially described in 1906 by a scientist named Joseph Dalton Hooker. He gave it the name Acianthus viridis. He wrote about it in a book called Flora Antarctica.

Later, in 1911, another scientist named Rudolf Schlechter changed its name to Townsonia viridis. The second part of its scientific name, viridis, is a Latin word that means "green." This makes sense because the flowers are green!

Where the Beech Orchid Lives

The beech orchid grows in forests that are always wet, especially those with myrtle beech trees. You can find it mainly on the west coast of Tasmania.