Kingdom Plantae Subfamily Epidendroideae Genus Dipodium Order Asparagales | Family Orchidaceae Tribe Cymbidieae Rank Species | |
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Similar Dipodium, Dipodium pardalinum, Dipodium variegatum, Dipodium roseum, Dipodium punctatum | ||
Dipodium atropurpureum is a leafless mycoheterotrophic orchid that is endemic to New South Wales in Australia.
Contents
Description
For most of the year, plants are dormant and have no above-ground presence. Below the ground lie fleshy roots. The racemose inflorescence that appears in summer is a long stem up to 70 cm high supporting 15 to 40 reddish-purple fleshy bell-shaped flowers with darker blotches. The tips of the petals and sepals are strongly recurved. The species was formally described in 1991 by Australian botanist David Lloyd Jones. The type specimen was collected east of Walcha.
Ecology
Pollination of this species, as for all species in the genus, is by native bees and wasps.
Cultivation
No leafless species of Dipodium has been sustained in cultivation due to the inability to replicate its association with mycorrhizal fungi in a horticultural context.