Bulbophyllum evasum

Creeping brittle orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Epidendroideae
Genus:	Bulbophyllum
Species:	B. evasum
Binomial name
	Bulbophyllum evasum; Rupp
Synonyms
	Kaurorchis evasa ( M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones;

Bulbophyllum evasum, commonly known as the creeping brittle orchid,

tropical North Queensland

.

Description

Bulbophyllum evasum is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb that has brittle, creeping rhizomes with well-spaced pseudobulbs that are 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) wide but mostly hidden under bracts. Each pseudobulb has a dark green, fleshy leaf, 25–35 mm (0.98–1.4 in) long and 15–30 mm (0.59–1.2 in) wide. Between ten and twenty five resupinate flowers about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and wide are clustered on the end of a dark red flowering stem 60–100 mm (2–4 in) long. The flowers are bell-shaped, pink to reddish with dark red stripes and yellow tips and do not open widely. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and forms a hood over the column. The lateral sepals are a similar size to the dorsal sepal and the petals are egg-shaped, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The labellum is heart-shaped, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with a pimply upper surface. Flowering occurs from November to March.^[2]^[3]

Taxonomy and naming

Bulbophyllum evasum was first formally described in 1950 by

Herman Rupp and the description was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland from a specimen collected on a mountain near Mossman by Hugo Flecker.^[4]^[5] The specific epithet (evasum) is a Latin word meaning "evasion".^[6]

Distribution and habitat

The creeping brittle orchid grows on trees, rocks and mossy boulders in the ranges at altitudes of between 1,000 and 1,600 m (3,300 and 5,200 ft) between the

Cedar Bay National Park and the Paluma Range National Park.^[2]^[3]