Microtis familiaris (Microtis familiaris)
Description
Microtis familiaris, commonly known as the coastal mignonette orchid or coastal onion orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west coastal region of Western Australia. It has a single hollow, onion-like leaf and up to twenty small, green to greenish-yellow, sweetly scented, widely spaced flowers. It often grows with large populations of other Microtis orchids but only flowers after fire. Microtis familiaris is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, smooth, tubular leaf 80–200 mm (3–8 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide. Between ten and twenty green to greenish-yellow flowers are well spaced along a flowering stem 100–250 mm (4–10 in) tall. The flowers are 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and are sweetly scented. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped with a small point on the tip and is 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in) wide and hood-like. The lateral sepals are lance-shaped, 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and turn back with their tips clasping the ovary. The petals are about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long, 0.5 mm (0.02 in) wide and are partly enclosed by the dorsal sepal. The labellum is oblong, 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and parallel to the ovary with a saddle-shaped callus in its centre. Flowering occurs from December to January but only after fire the previous summer.
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: Microtis
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