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| Thismia tectipora Cowie |
Abstract
Thismia tectipora (Thismiaceae) a new, unusual mitre-form species from tropical Australia. Nuytsia 27: 85–94 (2016). A new tropical species, Thismia tectipora Cowie from Melville Island in the far north of the Northern Territory, Australia, is described and illustrated. The species is unique in the genus in having a thickened, fleshy, verrucose, cap-like mitre, the rim of which is reflexed to hide the pores in the upper perianth tube. It appears allied to taxa previously placed in Thismia Griff. sect. Sarcosiphon (Blume) Jonker, Geomitra Becc. and Scaphiophora Schltr. Available evidence suggests T. tectipora has a restricted distribution on Melville Island. Threats to the species, and its conservation status, are discussed.
Type: Melville Island [near Paru], Northern Territory ... [precise locality withheld for conservation reasons].
Diagnostic features. Distinguished from all other Thismia species by the thickened, verrucose, caplike mitre, the margin of which is reflexed to hide the three pores at the apex of the perianth tube. The apparent absence of the three outer perianth lobes and single long, slender appendage are also both unusual in Thismia.
Etymology. From the Latin tectus (hidden) and porus (a pore), in reference to the pores in the perianth tube, which are hidden by the mitre cap (Figure 1).
Ian D. Cowie and David T. Liddle. 2016. Thismia tectipora (Thismiaceae) A New, Unusual Mitre-Form Species from Tropical Australia. Nuytsia, The journal of the Western Australian Herbarium. 27: 85–94. https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/781.pdf
