Thismia tectipora (Thismiaceae) a new, unusual mitre-form species from tropical Australia

Abstract

Cowie, I.D. & Liddle, D.T. Thismia tectipora (Thismiaceae) a new, unusual mitre-form species from tropical Australia. Nuytsia 27: 85-94 (2016). A new tropical species, Thismia tectipora Cowie from Melville Island in the far north of the Northern Territory, Australia, is described and illustrated. The species is unique in the genus in having a thickened, fleshy, verrucose, cap-like mitre, the rim of which is reflexed to hide the pores in the upper perianth tube. It appears allied to taxa previously placed in Thismia Griff. sect. Sarcosiphon (Blume) Jonker, Geomitra Becc. and Scaphiophora Schltr. Available evidence suggests T. tectipora has a restricted distribution on Melville Island. Threats to the species, and its conservation status, are discussed.Etymology. From the Latin tectus (hidden) and porus (a pore), in reference to the pores in the perianth tube, which are hidden by the mitre cap (Figure 1).Affinities. The inner perianth lobes that are fully connate into a well-developed three-holed mitre, the presence of coralloid roots, and the reduced to very reduced outer perianth lobes are all characters common to Thismia sect. Sarcosiphon (Blume) Jonker, as well as taxa placed by Jonker (1938) in Geomitra and Scaphiophora. Species in sect. Sarcosiphon or previously placed in Geomitra and Scaphiophora are prominent among the species found geographically closest to T. tectipora, occurring scattered over an area extending from Thailand, through Malesia to New Guinea and northern Australia (Cape York Peninsula, Queensland and the Northern Territory). This group comprises T. appendiculata Schltr. and T. crocea (Becc.