{{Short description|Species of orchid}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2024}} {{Speciesbox | name = Cradle orchid | image = Spurred Helmet Orchid at Nightcap NP.JPG | image_caption = ''Corybas aconitiflorus'' near Minyon Falls | taxon = Corybas aconitiflorus | authority = Salisb.<ref name=WCSP_47665/> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=WCSP_47665 /> | synonyms = * ''Corysanthes aconitiflorus'' <small>(Salisb.) Druce</small> * ''Corysanthes bicalcarata'' <small>R.Br.</small> }}
'''''Corybas aconitiflorus''''', commonly known as the '''cradle orchid'''<ref name="Jones" /> or '''spurred helmet orchid''',<ref name="RBGS" /> is a species of terrestrial orchid endemic to eastern Australia, occurring from south-east Queensland to Tasmania.<ref name=WCSP_47665/> The small flowers have a hooded appearance as the uppermost sepal hides most of the rest of the flower. It is the type species of the genus ''Corybas''.[[File:Corybas aconitiflorus (Paradisus Londinensis 98).jpg|thumb|225px|Hooker's illustration in ''The Paradisus Londinensis'': 1 – flower, half of the upper sepal cut away; 2 – half of the labellum showing one of the nectaries near the base; 3 – column, natural size; 4,5 – side and front view of the column magnified<ref name="W.Hook.">{{cite book |last1=Hooker |first1=William |title=The Paradisus Londinensis |date=1803 |publisher=William Hooker |location=London |page=83 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/113616#page/191/mode/1up |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref>]]
== Description == ''Corybas aconitiflorus'' grows from a pair of small tubers, to which it dies down in the dormant season. The stems are short and upright, with generally a single flat, smooth, basal leaf. The leaf is dark green on the upper surface, purplish below, egg-shaped to heart-shaped, {{convert|15-35|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The single greyish to reddish purple flower leans forward and is {{convert|25-30|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The hooded dorsal sepal is {{convert|22-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|10-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and covers and hides most of the rest of the flower. The lateral sepals and petals are {{convert|1 or 2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and similar in appearance to each other. The labellum is much smaller than the petals and lateral sepals and is undivided, with its margins turned inwards. The thin column is wider at the base and has fused wings along its body. There are terminal persistent pollen masses (pollinia), cream in colour, fixed directly to the viscidia (sticky pads which adhere to pollinators). The flower is pollinated by fungus gnats but otherwise little is known about the pollination mechanism because the flower is hidden by the dorsal sepal and the species is difficult to cultivate.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|page =168}}</ref><ref name="RBGS">{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=''Corybas aconitiflorus''|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Corybas~aconitiflorus|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney|access-date=2 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="RBGV">{{cite web|last1=Jeanes|first1=Jeff|title=''Corybas aconitiflorus''|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/105d52d3-a404-436d-8bc2-8b68e1687e23|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria|access-date=2 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=Jone01>{{Citation |last=Jones |first=David |year=2001 |editor-last=Pridgeon |editor-first=A.M. |editor2-last=Cribb |editor2-first=P.J. |editor3-last=Chase |editor3-first=M.W. |editor4-last=Rasmussen |editor4-first=F.N. |title=Genera Orchidacearum, Vol. 2 Orchidoideae, Part 1 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-850710-9 |chapter=''Corybas'' |name-list-style=amp }}</ref>
== Taxonomy == ''Corybas aconitiflorus'' was first formally described by Richard Salisbury in ''The Paradisus Londinensis'' in 1807,<ref name=WCSP_47665>{{Citation |chapter=''Corybas actonitiflorus''|title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |chapter-url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=47665 |access-date=2013-09-24}}</ref> where it was illustrated by William Hooker.<ref name=PL_83>{{Citation |last=Salisbury |first=R.A. |last2=Hooker |first2=W. |year=1805–1808 |title=The Paradisus Londonensis : or Coloured Figures of Plants Cultivated in the Vicinity of the Metropolis |location=London |publisher=W. Hooker (printer D.N. Shury) |oclc=1864969 |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.53520 |chapter=83 (figure and notes) |chapter-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36898332 |name-list-style=amp |url=https://www.archive.org/download/mobot31753000575172/mobot31753000575172.pdf }}</ref> This was also the source of the genus name ''Corybas''. Both the genus name and the specific epithet refer to the shape of the flower. ''Corybas'' is derived from the Greek {{lang|grc|Κορύβας}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Korybas}}),<ref name=PL_83/> a male dancer who worshipped the goddess Cybele, shown in illustrations wearing a crested helmet. The specific epithet ''aconitiflorus'' means "with a flower like ''Aconitum'' (monkshood)".
In 2002, David Jones, Mark Clements and others proposed splitting ''Corybas'' into eight smaller genera including ''Corybas'', ''Anzybas'', ''Corysanthes'' and ''Nematoceras''. However, because ''Corybas aconitiflorus'' is the type species of the genus, it will remain in ''Corybas''.<ref name=Jone02>{{Citation |last=Jones |first=D.L.|year=2002 |title=Nomenclatural notes arising from studies into the tribe Diurideae (Orchidaceae) |journal=Orchadian |volume=13 |pages=436–468 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The cradle orchid grows in heath and forest, mostly in coastal and near coastal districts. It occurs in Queensland south from Gympie, in eastern New South Wales and in south-eastern Victoria with isolated populations in the west of the state. It also occurs in the north and east of Tasmania.<ref name="Jones" /><ref name="RBGS" /><ref name="RBGV" />
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10260988}}
aconitiflorus Category:Endemic orchids of Australia Category:Orchids of New South Wales Category:Orchids of Queensland Category:Orchids of Tasmania Category:Plants described in 1807