Bromheadia finlaysoniana

Bromheadia finlaysoniana, commonly known as the pale reed orchid[2] and as Bromheadia pulchra in Australia,[3] is a plant in the orchid family and is native to areas from Indochina to northern Australia. It is a terrestrial orchid with a tough upright, stem and stiffly spreading, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves. There is a long flowering stem with a short zig-zag section near the end where single flowers open in succession. The flowers are white with a yellow labellum.

Drawing of Bromheadia finlaysoniana (as B. palustris) drawn by Lewis Roberts

Pale reed orchid
Drawing of Bromheadia finlaysoniana (as B. palustris) by Sarah Drake
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Asparagales
Family:
Orchidaceae
Subfamily:
Epidendroideae
Tribe:
Vandeae
Subtribe:
Adrorhizinae
Genus:
Bromheadia
Species:
B. finlaysoniana
Binomial name
Bromheadia finlaysoniana
Synonyms[1]
  • Bromheadia finlaysoniana var. palustris (Lindl.) J.J.Sm.
  • Bromheadia palustris Lindl.
  • Bromheadia palustris var. papuana J.J.Sm.
  • Bromheadia pulchra Schltr.
  • Bromheadia sylvestris Ridl.
  • Bromheadia venusta T.E.Hunt
  • Coelogyne caulescens Griff.
  • Grammatophyllum finlaysonianum Lindl.

Description

Bromheadia finlaysoniana is a terrestrial, evergreen herb with flattened yellowish stems 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) long with tough, stiffly spreading elliptic to egg-shaped leaves 100–150 mm (4–6 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) wide. The flowering stems is 100–200 mm (4–8 in) long with a short zig-zag end where up to seventy five single white flowers open in succession. The flowers are 35–45 mm (1–2 in) long, 30–40 mm (1–2 in) wide and are pinkish on the outside. The sepals are elliptic to egg-shaped, 25–50 mm (1–2 in) long and 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide and the petals are egg-shaped and a similar length but broader than the sepals. The laballum is pale yellow, about 21 mm (0.8 in) long and 15 mm (0.6 in) wide and has three lobes, the side lobes erect. Flowering occurs between June and March in Australia and as late as October in New Guinea.[2][4]

Taxonomy and naming

The pale reed orchid was first formally described in 1833 by John Lindley who gave it the name Grammatophyllum finlaysonianum and published the description in his book The genera and species of Orchidaceous plants.[5][6] In 1859, Friedrich Miquel changed the name to Bromheadia Finlaysoniana.[1] The specific epithet (finlaysoniana) honours George Finlayson who collected the type specimen.[6][7]

Distribution and habitat

Bromheadia finlaysoniana has a wide distribution that includes Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Brunei, the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, the Anambas Islands and possibly the Philippines, although it's uncertain whether the specimens referred to the Philippines were actually collected there.[1][4][8] It grows in wet areas, usually near streams, 0–200 metres altitude.[2][9] In Queensland, B. finlaysoniana grows from the top of the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Hopevale in the south.[9]

A cDNA for the enzyme dihydroflavonol 4-reductase has been cloned from B. finlaysoniana.[10]

References
  1. "Bromheadia finlaysoniana". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 353. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. "Bromheadia pulchra". APNI. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  4. "Bromheadia finlaysoniana". Orchids of New Guinea. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. "Grammatophyllum finlaysoniana". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  6. Lindley, John (1833). The genera and species of Orchidaceous plants. London: Ridgways. p. 173. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  7. Wiart, Christophe (2012). Medicinal plants of China, Korea, and Japan : bioresources for tomorrow's drugs and cosmetics. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 95. ISBN 9781439899113.
  8. Kruizinga, Jacob; van Scheindelen, H. J.; de Vogel, E.F. (1997). "Revision of the genus Bromheadia (Orchidaceae)". Orchid Monographs. 8 (1): 79–118, figures 29–55, plates 4b-5b.
  9. Beasley, J. 2009. Plants of Cape York: The Compact Guide. John Beasley, Kuranda, Qld., Australia. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-9806863-0-2.
  10. The isolation, molecular characterization and expression of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase cDNA in the orchid, Bromheadia finlaysoniana. Chye-Fong Liew, Chiang-Shiong Loh, Chong-Jin Goh and Saw-Hoon Lim, Plant Science, Volume 135, Issue 2, 10 July 1998, Pages 161–169, doi:10.1016/S0168-9452(98)00071-5
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