# Rimacola

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Genus of orchids

Green rock orchid Rimacola elliptica near Wentworth Falls Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Orchidoideae Tribe: Diurideae Subtribe: Megastylidinae Genus: Rimacola Rupp Species: R. elliptica Binomial name Rimacola elliptica (R.Br.) Rupp[1] Synonyms[1] Lyperanthus ellipticus R.Br. Caladenia elliptica (R.Br.) Rchb.f. Megastylis elliptica (R.Br.) Schltr.

***Rimacola elliptica***, commonly known as the **green rock orchid** or **green beaks**,[2] is the only species of plant in the [orchid](/source/Orchid) [genus](/source/Genus) ***Rimacola*** and is [endemic](/source/Endemism) to [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales). It is an evergreen species which grows in clumps in sandstone cracks and has bright green leaves and in late spring, produces arching flower stems with up to eighteen dull greenish flowers with reddish or brown markings. It only grows near [Sydney](/source/Sydney), mainly in the [Blue Mountains](/source/Blue_Mountains_(New_South_Wales)) and near [Fitzroy Falls](/source/Fitzroy_Falls%2C_New_South_Wales).

## Description

*Rimacola elliptica* is an [evergreen](/source/Evergreen) [perennial](/source/Perennial_plant) [herb](/source/Herbaceous_plant) with a short, branched, erect stem but which lacks a [tuber](/source/Tuber). It grows in clumps with crowded, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves 40–100 mm (2–4 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) wide on a stalk 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long. Between six and eighteen green to yellowish flowers with reddish or brown markings, 18–25 mm (0.7–1 in) long and 16–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) wide are borne on arching or drooping flowering stems 150–250 mm (6–10 in) long. The [dorsal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dorsal) [sepal](/source/Sepal) is lance-shaped, 23–27 mm (0.9–1 in) long and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) wide and the [lateral](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lateral) sepals are similar but narrower. The [petals](/source/Petal) are 16–19 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and curved. The [labellum](/source/Labellum_(botany)) is egg-shaped, white or green with red markings, 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long, 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide and erect with wavy edges. Flowering occurs in November and December.[2][3][4]

## Taxonomy and naming

The green rock orchid was first formally described in 1810 by [Robert Brown](/source/Robert_Brown_(botanist%2C_born_1773)) who gave it the name *Lyperanthus ellipticus* and published the description in *[Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen](/source/Prodromus_Florae_Novae_Hollandiae_et_Insulae_Van_Diemen)*.[5][6] In 1942 [Herman Rupp](/source/Herman_Rupp) changed the name to *Rimacola elliptica*.[7][8] The genus name (*Rimacola*), given by Rupp, is derived from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word *rima* meaning "cleft" or "fissure"[9]: 164 and *-cola* meaning "dweller".[8][9]: 217 The [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_name) (*ellipticus*) is derived from the Latin word *ellipsis* meaning "elliptical".[9]: 346

## Distribution and habitat

*Rimacola elliptica* is mainly found in the Blue Mountains by also occurs [disjunctly](/source/Disjunct_distribution) near Fitzroy Falls and near the coast north of Sydney. It mainly grows in sandstone fissures and on damp sandstone cliffs, often with mosses and other small plants.[2][3][4]

## See also

- [List of Orchidaceae genera](/source/List_of_Orchidaceae_genera)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-WCSP_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-WCSP_1-1) [Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families](http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=179093)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jones_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jones_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Jones_2-2) Jones, David L. (2006). *A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories*. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 284–285. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1877069124](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1877069124).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Pridgeon_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Pridgeon_3-1) Alec M. Pridgeon; Phillip J. Cribb; Mark W. Chase; Finn N. Rasmussen, eds. (2001). *Genera Orchidacearum (Volume 2)*. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 170–172. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0198507100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0198507100).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RBGS_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RBGS_4-1) Bernhardt, Peter. ["*Rimacola ellliptica*"](http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Rimacola~elliptica). Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI1_5-0)** ["*Lyperanthus ellipticus*"](https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/528153). APNI. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-R.Br._6-0)** Brown, Robert (1810). [*Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21871#page/193/mode/1up). London. p. 325. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI_7-0)** ["*Rimacola elliptica*"](https://id.biodiversity.org.au/reference/apni/38404). APNI. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Rupp_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Rupp_8-1) Rupp, Herman (1942). ["Robert Brown's *Lyperanthus ellipticus*"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/139541#page/597/mode/1up). *The Victorian Naturalist*. **58** (12): 187–188. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RWB_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RWB_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-RWB_9-2) Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). *The Composition of Scientific Words*. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

## External links

- Media related to [*Rimacola*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Rimacola) at Wikimedia Commons

Taxon identifiers Rimacola Wikidata: Q3906340 Wikispecies: Rimacola APNI: 113866 BOLD: 432109 CoL: 8W365 EoL: 108562 GBIF: 2816644 GRIN: 10487 iNaturalist: 577023 IPNI: 30542-1 IRMNG: 1289660 NCBI: 152909 Open Tree of Life: 288231 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30542-1 Tropicos: 40026027 WFO: wfo-4000033291 Rimacola elliptica Wikidata: Q15515182 Wikispecies: Rimacola elliptica APNI: 113894 BOLD: 432110 CoL: 4T3F7 EoL: 1131646 GBIF: 2816645 iNaturalist: 830583 IPNI: 655705-1 NCBI: 152910 Open Tree of Life: 862811 Plant List: kew-179093 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:655705-1 Species+: 71866 Tropicos: 50028947 WFO: wfo-0000297291

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rimacola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimacola) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimacola?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.