Cyanicula sericea
Cyanicula sericea, commonly known as the silky blue orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a common orchid in the high rainfall areas of the state and has a single, broad, silky leaf and up to four blue-mauve flowers.
Description
Cyanicula sericea is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single soft, densely silky leaf, long and about wide. Up to four pale blue or mauve flowers long and wide are borne on a stalk tall. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide. The lateral sepals and petals have about the same dimensions as the dorsal sepal. The labellum is long, wide and spotted with purple. The sides of the labellum curve upwards to surround the column, and the short tip curls downward with short teeth on its sides. There are four or six rows of purple calli along the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to early October and is much more prolific after summer fires.
Taxonomy and naming
Silky blue orchid was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley in his A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. In 2000, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown changed the name to Cyanicula sericea. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "silken" or "silky", referring to the soft, silky leaf of this species.
Distribution and habitat
Cyanicula sericea occurs in the higher rainfall areas of Western Australia between Jurien Bay in the north and Esperance in the east, in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions, growing in forest, woodland and on granite outcrops.
Conservation
Cyanicula sericea is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.