Rhinerrhiza moorei (Rchb. f.) M.A. Clem., B.J. Wallace & D.L. Jones 1989

Plant and Flowers Photos courtesy of André Schuiteman, Dr. E.F. de Vogel and Jaap Vermeulenand Their Netherlands National Herbarium Website

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Common Name Moore's Rhinerrhiza [Australian Collector]

Flower Size 3/8 to 1" [10 to 25 mm]

Found in Irian Jaya to Papua and New Guinea, south to Northern Queensland and east to the Solomon Islands as a small sized, hot growing epiphyte on large trees in coastal forests, rainforests, semi-deciduous forests, on beaches and savannah trees that occurs from sea level to 1000 meters where it has a flatstem sheathed by old leaf bases carrying 3 to 8, oblong, tinged pink or mauve, oblong, rigid, coriaceous leaves and blooms on an axillary, erect then towards the apex pendulous inflorescence that arises from the base leaves of the plant and has upwards of sixty, simultaneously, wide opening, fragrant flowers that last a day. Many orchid references to this species are Sarcochilus moorei from which it was removed in 1989. There are varieties in inflorescence types regionally, such as in PNG the inflorescence is descending with resupinate flowers, in the north only there are plants that have erect inflorescence with nonresupinate flowers. There are also regional differences in the leaf types with some being bilobed, and others not and varying degrees inbetween.

Synonyms Pteroceras moorei (Rchb.f.) Bakh.f. 1963; Rhinerrhizopsis moorei (Rchb.f.) Ormerod 2001; Sarcochilus beccarii (Rchb.f.) F.Muell 1890; Sarcochilus englerianum Kraenzl. 1905; Sarcochilus moorei Rchb. f. 1880; Sarcochilus moorei (Rchb.f.) Schltr. 1913; Sarcochilus papuanus Kraenzl. 1889; Sarcochilus solomonensis Rolfe 1908; Thrixspermum beccarii Rchb. f. 1881; *Thrixspermum moorei Rchb. f. 1880

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchidaceae of German New Guinea Schlechter 1985 as Sarcochilus moorei Rchb. f. 1880; Flora Malesiana: Orchids of New Guinea Vol 5 Schuiteman & D de Vogel 2008

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