Acianthus fornicatus
Pixie Caps
A member of the family Orchidaceae.
A terrestrial tuberous perennial herb to a maximum of 25 centimetres tall (often much less). Flowers are pink to green, with a green and dark purple-red labellum, on a terminal raceme during autumn and winter (May to August). Fruit, which is a dehiscent, dry capsule, ripen winter and spring, mainly within a month or so of flowering. The plant is most likely to be dispersed by wind.
The circular to broad-ovate, cordate leaves are simple, have a basal, solitary, alternate presentation on the stem, and are dark green above and reddish-purple below. New growth is green with a reddish base. Leaf margins are entire to crenate to undulate, often slightly recurved.
Habitats: May be found in the following habitats: littoral rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, dry sclerophyll forests, grassy forests, riparian areas, dune systems (including stabilised dunes),
No particular geology is favoured, with loam soils preferred.
Distribution: For the region considered by this work, it is recorded within the following botanical regions: North Coast. Actual distribution limits with respect to the whole of New South Wales include Eden to the south and Queensland to the north. With respect to northern New South Wales, the eastern limit is the sea, and west to the ranges. The plants mainly occur at low to medium altitudes*.
Within a population, the individuals generally have an abundance of occasional to abundant.
This species is also known by the synonyms Epipactis fornicata R.Br.) Poiret.
Similar species: Similarity can be seen in A. collinus, A. apprimus, A. exiguus, as well as species of Cyrtostylis and Corybas.
Distinguishing characters: Flowers 10 to 14 mm across. Sepals with short threadlike points, the dorsal sepal hooded over the column. Petals are spreading, labellum elliptic to cordate with a large cordate callus and entire tip.
Fire: The plant's response to fire is that it is resprouting, being most sensitive to fire when young. The juvenile period is most likely to be years (3 to 5 or more). The response of an individual is often dependent upon the timing and intensity of the fire. Also consider that any fire is likely to interrupt reproduction in a species, so consideration of the flowering and fruiting time, and periods beforehand during flower development, are necessary in developing a suitable fire regime.
Ethnobotany: The following is a record of human use of the taxon. The tubers are edible.
Propagation:
The materials recommended for propagation of the species are seeds and tuber divisions. Generally, the plants will grow at a slow rate.
The genus text page for Acianthus will be presented in the Genus Window if you select Acianthus in this paragraph.
This species may be found in the 4th volume, on page 218 of the Flora of NSW.
* - Low altitudes are below 300m, high altitudes are mainly above 900m. Medium altitudes are the band between. Sub-tidal is below the low tide level, and littoral is between the high and low tide marks.