Species of orchid
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Sarcochilus falcatus, commonly known as the orange blossom orchid, is a small epiphytic or lithophytic orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has up to eight, leathery leaves with fine teeth on the edges and up to twelve white to cream-coloured flowers with a white labellum that has orange and purple markings.
Description.
"Sarcochilus falcatus" is a small epiphytic or lithophytic herb with a stem long with between three and eight leathery, often curved leaves long and wide with fine teeth on the edges. Between three and twelve white to cream-coloured, fragrant flowers long and wide are arranged on an arching flowering stem long. The sepals and petals are egg-shaped, spread widely apart from each other and are long and wide. The labellum is white with orange and purple markings, long with three lobes. The side lobes are erect, about long and wide and the middle lobe is short and fleshy. Flowering occurs between June and October.
Taxonomy and naming.
"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. The specific epithet ("falcatus") is a Latin word meaning "sickle-shaped" or "curved", referring to the shape of the leaves.
Distribution and habitat.
The orange blossom orchid grows on trees but sometimes on rocks, usually in places exposed to air movement, clouds and drizzly weather. It grows in the Cedar Bay National Park in Queensland and south to the coast and nearby tablelands of New South Wales. It rarely occurs in the far north-eastern corner of Victoria.
Ecology.
A species of "Ceratobasidium" was isolated from a specimen of "S. falcatus" collected near Dungog.
Conservation.
This orchid is classed as "endangered" in Victoria under the Victorian Government "Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988". It is classified as "least concern" (LC) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References.
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External links.
 Media related to at Wikimedia Commons