| Phreatia listeri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Podochilaeae |
| Subtribe: | Thelasiinae |
| Genus: | Phreatia Lindl. |
| Species: | P. listeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Phreatia listeri Rolfe[1] |
|
Phreatia listeri is a species of epiphytic orchid. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific epithet honours British zoologist and plant collector Joseph Jackson Lister, who visited the island on HMS Egeria in 1887.[2]
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Phreatia listeri is a small, clump-forming epiphytic orchid. The long, thin leaves are 40–110 mm long and 2–5 mm wide. The 40–80 mm long inflorescence has many tiny, greenish-white flowers, only about 1 mm across. The orchid's lip is concave and contracted at the base. The seed capsule is 25 mm long.[2]
Found only on Christmas Island, the orchid is common on rainforest trees growing on the plateau and the upper terraces of the island.[2]
The orchid resembles both P. limenophylax Benth. from Norfolk Island, and P. minutiflora Lindl. from Borneo, but differs from them in its larger size and in the contracted lip.[2]