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Cooktownia robertsii, commonly known as mystery orchid, is the only species of plant in the orchid genus Cooktownia and is endemic to far north Queensland. It is a rare ground orchid, named in honour of the first scientist to discover it, Lewis Roberts and has two ground-hugging leaves and up to nine small green flowers. It is an unusual species because of its highly modified column which lacks pollen and does not have a receptive stigma.
Mystery orchid is only known from a small area south of Cooktown in tropical far north Queensland. Although it is highly localised, it can be locally common, is easily cultivated and reproduces freely. It is found in open forest in grassy areas in red gravelly or stony loam at altitudes from 300–500 m (1,000–2,000 ft), with maximum extent between March and late April.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cooktownia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
