View source for Biology:Diuris aequalis

{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Buttercup doubletail
| image = Diuris aequalis (4148996458).jpg
| image_caption = 
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Australian Government, Threatened Species Scientific Committee. |year=2022 |title=''Diuris aequalis'' |volume=2022 |page=e.T206712067A206712854 |doi= |access-date=28 June 2023}}</ref>
| genus = Diuris
| species = aequalis
| authority = F.Muell. ex Fitzg.<ref name="APC">{{cite web |title=''Diuris aequalis'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/78709 |website=Australian Plant Census |accessdate=22 June 2023}}</ref>
|synonyms_ref = <ref name="APC" />
| synonyms = ''Diuris maculata'' var. ''concolor'' <small>Benth.</small>
}}

'''''Diuris aequalis''''', commonly called the '''buttercup doubletail''',<ref name="RBGS">{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=''Diuris aequalis''|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Diuris~aequalis|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantNET|accessdate=13 September 2016}}</ref> is a species of [[Biology:Orchid|orchid]] which is [[Biology:Endemism|endemic]] to New South Wales. It has two rolled leaves and spikes of two to five golden-yellow to orange flowers and is currently listed as "Endangered".

==Description==
''Diuris aequalis'' is a [[Biology:Tuber|tuber]]ous, [[Biology:Perennial plant|perennial]] [[Biology:Herbaceous plant|herb]], usually growing to a height of {{convert|20-45|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}. There are two linear leaves arising from the base of the plant, each leaf {{convert|10-20|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and rolled so that the sides of the leaf face each other. There are between two and five golden-yellow to orange flowers arranged on a [[Biology:Raceme|raceme]], usually without spots, each about {{convert|25|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The dorsal [[Biology:Sepal|sepal]] is broadly egg-shaped to almost circular, {{convert|7-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|8-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide above the flower. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, {{convert|8-13|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2-3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide, sickle-shaped and green. The [[Biology:Petal|petal]]s are erect, ear-like above the flower, {{convert|6-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4-6|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[Biology:Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is {{convert|5-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2.5-5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and has three lobes, the medial lobe ridged in its centre and has two broad [[Biology:Labellum (botany)|calli]] about {{convert|3.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. Flowering occurs between October and December, following which the leaves die back to be replaced prior to the next flowering.<ref name="RBGS" /><ref name="energy">{{cite web|title=Approved Conservation Advice for ''Diuris aequalis'' (Buttercup Doubletail)|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/21588-conservation-advice.pdf|publisher=Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy|accessdate=13 September 2016}}</ref>[[File:Diuris aequalis (labelled).jpg|thumb|225px|''D. aequalis'' flower labelled]]

==Taxonomy and naming==
''Diuris aequalis'' was first formally described in 1876 by Robert D. FitzGerald in his book ''Australian Orchids'' from an unpublished description by [[Biography:Ferdinand von Mueller|Ferdinand von Mueller]].<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Duiris aequalis''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/493577|publisher=APNI|accessdate=13 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Fitzg.">{{cite book |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Robert D. |title=Australian Orchids |volume=1 |date=1879 |publisher=Thomas Richards, Government Printer |location=Sydney |page=5 |url=http://www.anosvic.org.au/R_D_Fitzgerald-Australian_Orchids_Vol_1.pdf |access-date=22 June 2023}}</ref> The [[Biology:Botanical name|specific epithet]] (''aequalis'') is a [[Social:Latin|Latin]] word meaning "like", "same" or "uniform".<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.|page =305}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
Buttercup doubletail orchid occurs on the ranges and tablelands of New South Wales between Braidwood and the Kanangra-Boyd National Park where it grows in forest and low open [[Biology:Woodland|woodland]] with a grassy understory, often on gentle slopes.<ref name="energy" />

==Conservation==
Only about 200 individual plants of ''D. aequalis'' are known, mostly on roadsides and on agricultural land. It is listed as "Vulnerable" (VU) under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The threats to its survival include land clearing, grazing, road maintenance and illegal rubbish dumping.<ref name="energy" />

It was one of the plants targeted in the 2015 [[Biology:Save a Species Walk|Save a Species Walk]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Join-Support/Donate-Now/Save-a-Species|title=Save a species|last=|first=|date=|website=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney|archive-url=|archive-date=|url-status= |access-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Diuris|aequalis]]

{{Sourceattribution|Diuris aequalis}}