{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Beak orchids | image = Kwinana gnangarra 300815-108.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Pyrorchis nigricans]]'' growing near [[Bertram, Western Australia|Bertram]], [[Western Australia|W.A.]] | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Pyrorchis | authority = [[David Lloyd Jones (botanist)|D.L.Jones]] & [[Mark Alvin Clements|M.A.Clem.]] }}
'''''Pyrorchis''''', commonly known as '''beak orchids''', is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plant]]s in the orchid family, [[Orchidaceae]] and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Australia]]. It contains two species which were previously included in the genus ''[[Lyperanthus]]'', also known as beak orchids. Both species have fleshy, oval leaves and form colonies which flower profusely after bushfires.
==Description== Orchids in the genus ''Pyrorchis'' are [[Terrestrial plant|terrestrial]], [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[sympodial]] herbs with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and an oval-shaped [[tuber]] lacking a protective [[Tunica (biology)|sheath]]. Replacement tubers are formed on the end of long, thin root-like [[stolon]]s. There are between one and three broad, fleshy, egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves at the base of the plant. The leaves are {{convert|2-14|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2-8|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and bright green, sometimes with black markings.<ref name="Hoffman">{{cite book|last1=Hoffman|first1=Noel|last2=Brown|first2=Andrew|title=Orchids of South-West Australia.|date=2011|publisher=Noel Hoffman|location=Gooseberry Hill|isbn=9780646562322|pages=264–267|edition=3rd}}</ref><ref name="Orchids">{{cite book|editor-last1=Pridgeon |editor-first1=Alec M.|editor-last2=Cribb |editor-first2=Phillip J.|editor-last3=Chase |first3=Mark W.|editor-last4=Rasmussen |editor-first4=Finn|title=Genera Orchidacearum, Volume 2, Orchidoideae (part 1)|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0198507100|pages=170–172}}</ref><ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Pyrorchis''|id=21295}}</ref><ref name="RBGS">{{cite web|last1=Weston|first1=Peter|title=''Pyrorchis nigricans''|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pyrorchis~nigricans|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="RBGV">{{cite web|last1=Jeanes|first1=Jeff|title=''Pyrorchis''|url=http://data.rbg.vic.gov.au/vicflora/flora/taxon/1617dd7c-7595-4e03-9fbe-d012a207fd32|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: Vicflora|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref>
There are up to eight [[Resupination#Orchidaceae|resupinate]] [[flower]]s on a stalk {{convert|10-30|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} high. The stalk is often surrounded by two or three loose, leaf-like [[bract]]s up to {{convert|4|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. The [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] is lance-shaped, about {{convert|20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and forms a hood over the [[Column (botany)|column]]. The [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals are about the same length and the same size and shape as the petals. As is usual in orchids, one petal is highly modified as the central [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]]. The labellum is gently curved near its base where it encloses the base of the [[Column (botany)|column]] but more strongly curved near its tip, which is deeply fringed. The column is about {{convert|12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}, straight or gently curved with the [[Stamen|anther]] at its tip. Flowering occurs between August and early December, depending on species and the fruit that follows flowering is a non-fleshy, [[Dehiscence (botany)|dehiscent]] [[Capsule (botany)|capsule]] containing up to 500 seeds.<ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name="Orchids" /><ref name="FloraBase" /><ref name="RBGS" /><ref name="RBGV" />[[File:Undertaker Orchid 2.JPG|thumb|225px|''P. nigricans'']][[File:Pyrorchis nigricans (labelled).001.jpg|thumb|225px|labelled image]]
==Taxonomy and naming== [[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|Robert Brown]] first formally described ''Lyperanthus nigricans'' in 1810, publishing the description in ''[[Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae]]''.<ref name=APNI(1)>{{cite web|title=''Lyperanthus nigricans''|url= http://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/528223 |publisher=APNI|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Brown">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Robert|title=Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae (Vol. 1)|date=1810|location=London|page=325|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21771#page/195/mode/1up|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref> In 1994, [[David Lloyd Jones (botanist)|David Jones]] and [[Mark Alwin Clements|Mark Clements]] described the genus ''Pyrorchis'' and included the species that Brown had described.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Pyrorchis nigricans''|url= http://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/575483|publisher=APNI|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Jones">{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|last2=Clements|first2=Mark A.|title=Pyrorchis, a new genus of Orchidaceae from Australia|journal=Phytologia|date=1994|volume=77|issue=6|pages=448–449|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47129#page/28/mode/1up|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref> The name "''Pyrorchis''" is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] word ''pyr'' meaning "fire"<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>{{rp|331}} and ''orchis'' meaning "orchid".<ref name="RWB" />{{rp|577}}<ref name="Jones" />
There are two species: *''[[Pyrorchis forrestii]]''<small> ([[Ferdinand von Mueller|F.Muell.]]) [[David Lloyd Jones (botanist)|D.L.Jones]] & [[M.A.Clem.]]</small> – pink beaks (Western Australia) *''[[Pyrorchis nigricans]]''<small> ([[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|R.Br.]]) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.</small> – red beaks, elephants' ears ([[New South Wales|N.S.W.]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], [[Tasmania]], [[South Australia]], [[Western Australia]] and [[Australian Capital Territory|A.C.T.]])<ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name="RBGS" />
==Distribution and habitat== ''Pyrorchis forrestii'' is only found in the south-west of [[Western Australia]] between [[Augusta, Western Australia|Augusta]] and [[Waychinicup National Park]] where it grows near the margins of swamps or near creeks.<ref name="Hoffman" /> ''Pyrorchis nigricans'' occurs much more widely, growing in [[New South Wales|N.S.W.]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], [[Tasmania]], [[South Australia]], and the [[Australian Capital Territory|A.C.T.]] in a range of moist habitats. In drier areas of Western Australia, it is usually found in moist places near [[granite]] outcrops.<ref name="RBGS" /><ref name="RBGV" /><ref name="efloraSA">{{cite web|title=''Lyperanthus nigricans''|url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Lyperanthus_nigricans|publisher=State Herbarium of South Australia: efloraSA|accessdate=6 July 2016}}</ref>
==Ecology== Both species of ''Pyrorchis'' produce small amounts of nectar and have a strong, sweet smell, especially in hot weather, suggesting pollination by bees although only ''P. forrestii'' has brightly coloured flowers. Both species flower profusely after fire, sometimes after other kinds of disturbance such as [[Mower|mowing]], otherwise only one or two are seen after hot summer days.<ref name="Orchids" /><ref name="Archer">{{cite web|last1=Archer|first1=William|title=''Pyrorchis nigricans''|date=19 July 2008|url=http://esperancewildflowers.blogspot.com.au/2008/07/red-beaks-pyrorchis-nigricans.html|publisher=Esperance Wildflowers|accessdate=5 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Vicflora">{{cite web|title=''Pyrorchis''|url=http://data.rbg.vic.gov.au/vicflora/flora/taxon/1617dd7c-7595-4e03-9fbe-d012a207fd32|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: Vicflora|accessdate=6 July 2016}}</ref>
==Conservation== Both species of ''Pyrorchis'' are classified as "Not Threatened" by the Western Australian Government [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]].<ref name=FloraBase(1)>{{FloraBase|name=''Pyrorchis forrestii''|id=16368}}</ref><ref name=FloraBase(2)>{{FloraBase|name=''Pyrorchis nigricans''|id=16367}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of Orchidaceae genera]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Commons-inline|italic=1}} * [http://www.retiredaussies.com/ColinsHome%20Page/Orchids/Pyrorchis/Pyrorchis%20nigricans%20Undertaker%20Orchid%202006.htm Retired Aussies, ''Pyrorchis nigricans'', Undertaker Orchid]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3292390}}
[[Category:Pyrorchis| ]] [[Category:Diurideae genera]]