Elfin midge orchid (Genoplesium archeri)
Description
Genoplesium archeri, commonly known as the elfin midge orchid and as Corunastylis archeri in Australia, is a small terrestrial orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to fifteen small, hairy, yellowish green flowers with purple stripes. It grows in a wide range of habitats in New South Wales, Victoria and Genoplesium archeri is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin leaf 100�150 mm 4�6 in long and fused to the flowering stem with the free part 20�25 mm 0.8�1 in long. Between two and fifteen yellowish green flowers are crowded along a flowering stem 15�30 mm 0.6�1 in tall and about as tall as the leaf. The flowers are about 7 mm 0.3 in long and 5 mm 0.2 in wide and are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, about 4.5 mm 0.2 in long and 2.5 mm 0.1 in wide with hairless edges, purple stripes and a pointed tip. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, about 5 mm 0.2 in long, 1.5 mm 0.06 in wide and spread widely apart from each other. The petals are egg-shaped, about 4 mm 0.2 in long and 1.5 mm 0.06 in wide with purple stripes and hairless edges. The labellum is purple, broadly egg-shaped, about 3 mm 0.1 in long, 2 mm (0.08 in) wide, with a curled, sharply pointed tip and coarse hairs up to 1 mm 0.04 in long on the sides. There is an narrow egg-shaped callus in the centre of the labellum and extending nearly to its tip. Flowering occurs from November to March
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Orchidaceae
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Genus: Genoplesium
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