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Genoplesium
Genoplesium commonly known as midge orchids, is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is found in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. Midge orchids are terrestrial herbs with a single leaf at the base of the plant. They are similar to orchids in the genus Prasophyllum in that plants without flowers have a hollow, onion-like leaf. The flowers are small but often scented and attractive to their insect pollinators. There is disagreement about which species belong to this genus and some taxonomists suggest that most belong in the genus Corunastylis.
Midge orchids mainly occur in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. There is one species (G. calopterum) in New Caledonia and two (G. nudum and G. pumilum) in New Zealand. Most Genoplesium species occur in near-coastal regions but also grow in montane and sub-alpine areas. In Australia they are most common in moss beds over rock, in forest, woodland, heath and mallee. Genoplesium species in New Zealand grow in grassy places as well as in swamps and the New Caledonian species grows in stunted maquis.
Corunastylis densa · Genoplesium laminatum · Genoplesium leptochilum · Genoplesium trifidum · Midge Orchids · Pointed midge orchid · Tableland midge orchid · Black midge orchid · Freak midge orchid · Elfin midge orchid · Erect midge orchid · Brittle midge orchid
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Genoplesium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
