Slender onion orchid (Microtis unifolia)
Description
Microtis parviflora is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, smooth, tubular leaf 20–50 cm (8–20 in) long. The leaf is pointed at the end and usually longer than the flower spike. Between ten and eighty small green flowers are crowded on an erect, fleshy raceme 20–50 cm (8–20 in) tall. Each flower has a pedicel about 1 mm (0.04 in) long allowing the flower to stand out from the spike. The ovary is more or less oval in shape, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped to round, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and with the petals forms a hood over the column. The lateral sepals are linear in shape, slightly shorter than the dorsal sepal, and roll back as they age. The labellum is 1 or 2 mm (0.04 or 0.08 in) long, more or less heart-shaped and turns downwards in a semi-circle. There are two relatively large, egg-shaped calli at the base of the labellum. Flowering occurs from October to February, or to March in New Zealand.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum:
-
-
Class: Liliopsida
-
-
Order: Asparagales
-
-
Family: Orchidaceae
-
-
Genus: Microtis
-
-
-
-
-
-
