Golden donkey orchid (Diuris aurea)
Description
Diuris aurea, commonly known as the golden donkey orchid is a species of orchid which is endemic to Australia, growing in New South Wales and Queensland. It has one or two leaves at the base and two to five golden-yellow to orange flowers with some darker markings. Diuris aurea is a tuberous, perennial, terrestrial herb, usually growing to a height of 30–60 cm (10–20 in). There are one or two linear-shaped leaves, each 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide and channelled. There are between 2 and 5 golden yellow to orange flowers with some darker markings on the labellum and dorsal sepal. The flower is about 3.5 cm (1 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is broad egg-shaped, 8–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 7–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in) wide and erect. The lateral sepals are linear to spoon-shaped, 10–25 mm (0.4–1 in) long, 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide and hang below the flower, usually parallel to each other. The petals are erect and spread, ear-like above the flower. They are broadly egg-shaped, 7–17 mm (0.3–0.7 in) long, 6–14 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide on a dark coloured, stalk-like "claw", 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in). The labellum is 10–16 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and is divided into three lobes. The lateral lobes are narrow elliptic to wedge-shaped, 4–6 mm (0.2–0.2 in) long, 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide with a few teeth on their edge. The medial lobe is 7–13 mm (0.3–0.5 in) wide with a ridge along its centre line and there is a two-part callus 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to November.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum:
-
-
Class: Liliopsida
-
-
Order: Asparagales
-
-
Family: Orchidaceae
-
-
Genus: Diuris
-
-
-
-
-
-
