{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Myrtle beech orchids | image = Townsonia deflexa.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Townsonia deflexa]]'' | taxon = Townsonia | authority = [[Thomas Frederic Cheeseman|Cheeseman]]<ref name="PoWO">{{cite web |title=''Townsonia'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30821-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=3 December 2022}}</ref> | type_species = ''Townsonia deflexa''<ref name="PoWOt" /> | type_species_authority = Cheeseman, 1906 }}
'''''Townsonia''''', commonly called '''myrtle beech orchids''' is a [[genus]] of two species of [[flowering plant]]s from the [[orchid]] [[Family (taxonomy)|family]], [[Orchidaceae]]. They form small clusters of plants with their [[tuber]]s connected, each tuber with one or two leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous.
==Description== Orchids in the genus ''Townsonia'' are [[Terrestrial plant|terrestrial]], [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[sympodial]] [[Herbaceous plant|herbs]] which grow in small groups with their tubers connected by a fleshy root. Each tuber produces one or two leaves. The leaves are very thin with wavy margins. Those on non-flowering plants have a relatively long, fleshy [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] near ground level. Flowering plants have a similar leaf but lack a petiole, the leaf on the side of a brittle flowering stem. The flowers are small and pale coloured and have a [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] wider than the [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals. The [[petal]]s are much smaller than the sepals. The [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is much different in size and shape from the petals and sepals, folded lengthwise with a narrow, ridge-like [[Labellum (botany)|callus]] along the mid-line.<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=163}}</ref><ref name="eMonocot">{{cite web|title=''Townsonia'' Cheeseman|url=http://e-monocot.org/taxon/urn:kew.org:wcs:taxon:207050|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Kew|accessdate=3 May 2018}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== ''Townsonia'' was first formally described in 1906 by [[Thomas Frederic Cheeseman]] who published the description in ''Manual of the New Zealand Flora''.<ref name="PoWO" /> Cheeseman described ''[[Townsonia deflexa|T. deflexa]]'' in the same publication making it the [[Type (biology)|type species]].<ref name="PoWOt">{{cite web |title=''Townsonia deflexa'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:660386-1 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=3 December 2022}}</ref><ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Townsonia''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/523425|publisher=APNI|accessdate=3 May 2018}}</ref> The name ''Townsonia'' honours "Mr. W. Townson, of Westport", who discovered the species.<ref name="Cheeseman">{{citeq|Q51396409|page=691}}</ref>
The names of three species of ''Townsonia'' are accepted by [[Plants of the World Online]] as at August 2022:<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |title=''Townsonia'' |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/results?q=Townsonia |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=13 August 2022}}</ref> * ''[[Townsonia apetala]]'' <small>([[Rchb.f.]]) [[M.A.Clem.]] & [[David L. Jones (botanist)|D.L.Jones]]</small> (New Caledonia) * ''[[Townsonia deflexa]]'' <small>[[Thomas Frederic Cheeseman|Cheeseman]]</small> (New Zealand) * ''[[Townsonia viridis]]'' <small>([[Hook.f.]]) [[Schltr.]]</small> (Australia)
==See also== * [[List of Orchidaceae genera]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Townsonia| ]] [[Category:Diurideae genera]] [[Category:Taxa named by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman]]