Robiquetia wassellii

"Robiquetia wassellii Dockrill, commonly known as the green pouched orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid from the family Orchidaceae. It has thick roots, a pendulous stem, between three and six crowded, dark green leaves and many crowded dark green flowers with pink to red centres and a white to yellowish labellum. It grows on trees and rocks in rainforest in tropical North Queensland, Australia."

Robiquetia wassellii Dockrill, Australas. Sarcanthinae 7 (1967).

Robiquetia wassellii Dockrill, Photo by Hooi Wai Keong

its native range is N. Queensland.

Latin Name: 

Robiquetia wassellii Dockrill

Family: 

Orchidaceae Juss.

Synonym:

No synonyms are recorded for this name.

English Name:

Wassell's Robiquetia (Australian Orchid Collector 20th century).

Australia name:

The Green Pouched Orchid.

Description: 

Epiphytic or lithophytic herb forming straggly clumps. Plants usually consisting of single main growth, sometimes forming sparse clumps with thick roots. Stems pendulous, 10-50 cm long, apex upcurved. Leaves 3-6 per stem, crowded, prostrate to pendulous, distichous, alternate, sessile, bases sheathing stem, imbricate; lamina narrowly oblong, 8-14 cm long, up to 3 cm wide, dark green, apex unequally emarginate. Inflorescence an axillary raceme, stiffly decurved, 10-15 cm long. Flowers numerous, crowded, resupinate, porrect, narrow, cupped, 12-14 mm x 4-6 mm, dark green with pink to red central areas and white to yellowish labellum spur. Sepals and petals not spreading widely, apices obtuse. Dorsal sepal narrowly obovate, 6 mm x 3.5 mm. Lateral sepals obovate, 5 mm x 3.8 mm. Petals elliptical, 5.5 mm x 3.5 mm. Labellum 5.5 mm x 3.5 mm, obscurely 3-lobed; basin-shaped with projecting beak-like apex; spur prominent, decurved, 12 mm long, distally bulbous, containing nectar. Column 3 mm long, projecting forward above spur opening. Column foot absent. Capsules porrect, dehiscent.

Distribution:

Queensland.

Ecological:

In seasonal rainforests at elevations around 200 to 600 m as a large sized, shade loving, hot to warm growing epiphyte.

Flowering times:

Blooms from June-August.

Flower size:

1.3 cm.

Cultivation:

Plant grows from cool to intermediate conditions with medium amounts of light. Plants should be potted in medium bark or sphagnum moss. Water everytime when the mix has just about dried.

Typus:

Dockrill, Austral. Sarcanth. 7, t. 19 (1967). Type: cult. Melbourne Bot. Gdns, ex Central Cape York Peninsula, Rocky River, McIlwraith Range, 22 June 1958, J.L. Wassell s.n. (holo MEL).

Reference: 

- theplantlist.org

- https://www.ipni.org/n/655753-1

- http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:655753-1

-  http://www.orchidspecies.com/robwasselii.htm.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robiquetia_wassellii

- https://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/RFKOrchids/key/rfkorchids/Media/Html/Robiquetia_wassellii.htm

- https://orchids.fandom.com