Glossodia

For the suburb of Sydney in Australia, see Glossodia, New South Wales.

Glossodia, commonly known as waxlip orchids, is a genus of mostly purple orchids from Australia. The genus was first formally described in 1810 by the prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown who published his description in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.[1][2]

Two species are recognised:[3]

• Glossodia major R.Br. - waxlip orchid, native to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia;
• Glossodia minor R.Br. - small waxlip orchid, native to Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

In 2015, as a result of studies of molecular phylogenetics,[4] Mark Clements transferred the two Glossodia species to Caladenia, but the change is not recognised by the Australian Plant Census.[1]

Plants of the World Online lists Glossodia as a synonym of Caladenia.[5]

References

1. "Glossodia". APNI. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
2. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae. London. pp. 325–326. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
3. "Glossodia". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney; plantnet. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
4. Clements, Mark A.; Howard, Christopher G.; Miller, Joseph T. (13 April 2015). "Caladenia revisited: Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses of Caladeniinae plastid and nuclear loci". American Journal of Botany. 102 (4): 581–597. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500021. PMID 25878091.
5. "Caladenia". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 17 October 2023.