Sarcochilus falcatus
Orange Blossom Orchid
Orange Blossom Orchid
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Epidendroideae > Sarcochilus
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Common name: Orange Blossom Orchid
Conservation status: Least concern (except in Victoria)
This orchid is classed as "endangered" in Victoria under the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
It is classified as least concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Etymology:
The specific epithet (falcatus) is a Latin word meaning "sickle-shaped" or "curved", referring to the shape of the leaves
Flowers
Between 3 and 12 white to cream-coloured, fragrant flowers 20–30 mm long and wide
These are arranged on an arching flowering stem 70–180 mm long
The sepals and petals are egg-shaped, spread widely apart from each other and are 10–16 mm long and 5–7 mm wide
The labellum is white with orange and purple markings, 4–6 mm long with three lobes
The side lobes are erect, about 7 mm long and 5 mm wide and the middle lobe is short and fleshy
Flowering occurs between June and October
Fruit:
Leaves:
Between 3 and 8 leathery, often curved leaves 60–160 mm long and 15–20 mm wide
With fine teeth on the edges
Stem & branches:
A stem 40–80 mm long
Roots:
Habit:
A small epiphytic or lithophytic orchid
Habitat:
It grows on trees but sometimes on rocks
Usually in places exposed to air movement, clouds and drizzly weather
Distribution:
Endemic to eastern Australia
It grows in the Cedar Bay National Park in Queensland and south to the coast and nearby tablelands of NSW
It rarely occurs in the far north-eastern corner of Victoria
Additional notes:
Taxonomy
Sarcochilus falcatus was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who published the description in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
It was the first species of Sarcochilus to be described and is therefore the type species
A species of Ceratobasidium was isolated from a specimen of S. falcatus collected near Dungog
Sources of information:
(2023)