Prasophyllum gracile
Prasophyllum gracile, commonly known as the little laughing leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is one of the most common and widespread orchids in the south-west and has a single smooth, tube-shaped leaf and up to forty or more, usually yellowish-green flowers.
Description
Prasophyllum gracile is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single smooth green, sometimes reddish, tube-shaped leaf long and about in diameter near the base. Between five and forty or more flowers are arranged on a flowering spike high. The flowers are yellowish-green, sometimes purplish, long and about wide. The ovary is an oval shape, about long and the dorsal sepal is a narrow egg shape or lance-shaped, about long, concave and more or less pointed. The lateral sepals are narrow lance-shaped about long, joined for about half their length and have erect, pointed tips about long. The petals are about long, blunt and curve inwards. The labellum is egg-shaped to lance-shaped, about long and wide with slightly wavy edges, and curves upwards to almost touch the lateral sepals. Flowering occurs from July to November.Taxonomy and naming
Prasophyllum gracile was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley and the description was published in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "slender" referring to the thin tips on the lateral sepals.The taxonomy of this species has been difficult. Prasophyllum macrostachyum was described in 1810 by Robert Brown and in 1971, Alex George reduced P. gracile to a synonym of P. macrostachyum var. macrostachyum. Mark Clements examined the type specimens of P. gracile in the herbaria at Kew Gardens and determined that P. gracile is conspecific with P. ringens which had been raised to species status by Robert John Bates in 1989 and that it is different from P. macrostachyum, especially with regard to the length of the tips of the lateral sepals. Examination of fresh specimens by Clements and David Jones confirmed that view. As a consequence, they recognise both P. macrostachyum and P. gracile.