Genoplesium nigricans

Mallee midge orchid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Genoplesium
Species:
G. nigricans
Binomial name
Genoplesium nigricans
Synonyms[1]
  • Corunastylis nigricans (R.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
  • Prasophyllum nigricans R.Br.
  • Corunastylis fuscoviridis (Reader) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
  • Corunastylis tepperi (F.Muell. ex Tepper) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
  • Prasophyllum fuscoviride Reader
  • Prasophyllum horburyanum Rupp
  • Prasophyllum tepperi F.Muell. ex Tepper

Genoplesium nigricans is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family. In Australia, it is usually given the scientific name Corunastylis tepperi, commonly known as mallee midge orchid in Victoria and as pigmy orchid in Western Australia,[2][3] but is still known as Genoplesium nigricans in New South Wales[4] and South Australia[5]. It is a terrestrial herb with a single leaf mostly surrounding the stem, and up to 50 tiny greenish flowers with a deep maroon-coloured labellum and often have a fruity fragrance.

Description

Genoplesium nigricans is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous herb. A single long leaf surrounds the stem from the base of the plant to the lowest of the flowers. The leaf is 80–250 mm (3.1–9.8 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide.[2][6][7][8]

The inflorescence is a spike with from 5 to 50 crowded, tiny, non-resupinate flowers which are bright green with a dark maroon-coloured to purplish-black labellum. Each flower is pendulous, about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide and long with petals and sepals that do not spread widely. The dorsal sepal is a broad egg-shape, about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and wide. The two lateral sepals are lance-shaped, 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) long and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide and dished near their bases. The petals are linear, tipped with small glands about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and less than 1 mm (0.039 in) wide.[2][9][10] The dark-coloured labellum is egg-shaped, about the same size as the petals with a minutely wavy edge. The callus is narrow egg-shaped and extends almost to the tip of the labellum. The column, which is below the labellum has wings with a rough surface. Flowering occurs between February and May and the fruit that follows is a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule containing hundreds of seeds.[6][8]

Taxonomy and naming

Lectotype

This taxon was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown, who gave it the name Prasophyllum nigricans in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen with observations by Ferdinand Bauer, from specimens collected on Bay X (Port Lincoln) between 26 February and 6 March 1802.[11][12][13][14] In 1989, David Jones and Mark Clements transferred Prasophyllum nigricans to Genoplesium as G. nigricans in the journal Lindleyana.[15] The specific epithet (nigricans) is a Latin word meaning 'blackish'.[16]

In 1880, Otto Tepper, a South Australian school teacher, reported to the Royal Society of South Australia, the discovery he had made of an orchid "in respect of which Baron F. v. Mueller, has done me the honour of naming it Prasophyllum Tepperi".[17][18] Tepper's description was formalised by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1882 with the name published in Systematic Census of Australian Plants.[19][20]

In 1898, Felix Reader published the name Prasophyllum fusco-viride for a plant he collected near Dimboola in the western part of Victoria, the name being published in The Victorian Naturalist.[21]

In 1942, Herman Rupp published the name Prasophyllum horburyanum for a plant collected in 1938 by Goadby in Western Australia from 'Kumarl, via Esperance', the name being published in the Victorian Naturalist.[22][23] In 1971 P. horburyanum was recognised by Alex George as a synonym of P. fuscoviride.[24]

In 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements transferred Prasophyllum tepperi to Corunastylis as C. tepperi.[25] Plants of the World Online lists C. tepperi as a synonym of Genoplesium nigricans.[26] The Australian Plant Census and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria accept the name C. tepperi.[6][27]

In 2018, David Jones and Mark Clements proposed a new infrageneric classification of the genus in Australian Orchid Review.[28], and in 2019 the name C. tepperi was changed to Corunastylis fuscoviridis in the journal Nuytsia.[29] The name Corunastylis fuscoviridis is accepted by the Western Australian Herbarium.[30] However, Plants of the World Online list Corunastylis tepperi and Corunastylis fuscoviridis as heterotypic synonyms of Genoplesium nigricans,[1] and this is supported the State Herbarium of South Australia (AD) in the Census of South Australian Plants.[31]

Distribution and habitat

Mallee midge orchid occurs in arid areas, mostly in mallee shrubland and Callitris woodland.[6][14] It is found in isolated populations across South Australia including the Eyre Peninsula where it was initially collected, and in north-western Victoria. Further populations are found in Western Australia where mallee plants are abundant, in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Hampton and Mallee biogeographic regions.[32]

Ecology

This species appears to be pollinated by tiny fruit flies which are attracted by the scent of the flower at the same time as other plants, such as Leucopogon are flowering.[8][33][34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Genoplesium nigricans". Plants of the World Online. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 189–190. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. ↑ Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew; Brown, Justin (2019). Orchids of South~West Australia (4th ed.). Perth: Noel Hoffman. pp. 332–334. ISBN 9781763854703.
  4. ↑ Jones, David L. "Genoplesium nigricans". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Genoplesium nigricans". FloraSA. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Jeanes, Jeff. "Corunastylis tepperi". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 168–169. ISBN 9780980296457.
  8. 1 2 3 Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. pp. 351–352. ISBN 9780646562322.
  9. ↑ Niejalke, June (2002). Native Orchids of South Australia: A Field Guide. Self published. pp. 334–335. ISBN 9780646863306.
  10. ↑ Rogers, Richard S. (1909). "A Critical Review of South Australian Prasophylla, Together with a Description of Some New Species". Transactions and Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of South Australia. 33: 204–208. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Prasophyllum nigricans". APNI. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum. London: Typis R. Taylor et socii. p. 319. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Barker, Robyn Mary (2007). "The botanical legacy of 1802: South Australian plants collected by Robert Brown and Peter Good on Matthew Flinders' Investigator and by the French scientists on Baudin's Géographe and Naturalist". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 21: 35–36. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  14. 1 2 Rogers, Richard (December 1909). "A critical review of South Australian Prasophylla, together with a description of some new species". Transactions, Proceedings and Report of the Royal Society of South Australia. 33: 197–222 – via BHL.
  15. ↑ "Genoplesium nigricans". APNI. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  16. ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780645629538.
  17. ↑ "Prasophyllum tepperi". APNI. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  18. ↑ Tepper, Otto (1880). "On the characteristics and distribution of the native and naturalised plants about Ardrossan, Yorke's Peninsula". Transactions and Proceedings and Report, Royal Society of South Australia. 3: 32–33. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  19. ↑ "Prasophyllum tepperi". APNI. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  20. ↑ Mueller, Ferdinand von (1882). Systematic Census of Australian Plants. Melbourne: M'Carron, Bird & Co. p. 140. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Reader, Felix M. (1898). "Contributions to the Flora of Victoria. No. IV". The Victorian Naturalist. 14: 163–164. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  22. ↑ Rupp, Herman (1942). "The Section Genoplesium in the Genus Prasophyllum (Orchidaceae)". The Victorian Naturalist. 59 (7): 121–128. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "Prasophyllum horburyanum". APNI. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "A checklist of the Orchidaceae of Western Australia". BHL. 1971.
  25. ↑ "Corunastylis tepperi". APNI. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "Corunastylis tepperi". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  27. ↑ "Corunastylis tepperi". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  28. ↑ Jones, David L.; Clements, Mark A. (2018). "Newly Recognised and Reinstated species of Corunastylis Fitzg. (Orchidaceae:Prasophyllinae), with a Proposed Infrageneric Classification of the Genus". Australian Orchid Review. 83 (1). Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Percy-Bower, J.M.; Parker, C.M. (2019). "Updates to Western Australia's vascular plant census for 2018". Nuytsia. 30: 9. doi:10.58828/nuy00913. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Western Australian Herbarium, Biodiversity and Conservation Science. "Florabase—the Western Australian flora". florabase.dbca.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2026-08-15.
  31. ↑ "Census of South Australian plants, algae and fungi: Vascular plants (2025). .6.1 – 7 July 2025. Editors: Lang, P.J., Kellermann, J., Hammer, T.A & Waycott, M. (State Herbarium of South Australia: Adelaide, South Australia.) Page 18" (PDF). Census of South Australian Vascular plants. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "Corunastylis tepperi". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  33. ↑ Archer, William (May 2013). "Corunastylis tepperi - Pygmy Orchid". Experance Wildflowers. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  34. ↑ Bates, Robert J. (21 May 2011). "Murray Mallee Midges Autumn 2011". Native Orchid Society of South Australia. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
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