Townsonia

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Orchidoideae
Tribus: Diurideae
Subtribus: Acianthinae
Genus: Townsonia
Overview of species (3)

T. atepala – T. deflexa – T. viridis
Name

Townsonia Cheeseman, Man. New Zealand Fl.: 691 (1906).

Type species: Townsonia deflexa Cheeseman Man New Zealand Fl.: 692 (1906)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Australasia
Australia
Tasmania.
New Zealand
Antipodean Islands, Chatham Islands, New Zealand North, New Zealand South.
Pacific
Southwestern Pacific
New Caledonia.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Cheeseman, T.F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora, 691.
Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.W. & Rasmussen, F.N. (eds.) 2001. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 2: Orchidoideae (Part one); page 81 ff., Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850710-0

Links

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2021. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Townsonia. Accessed: 2021 Aug 5.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Townsonia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Aug 5. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Townsonia in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Aug 5. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2021. Townsonia. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2021. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Aug 5. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Townsonia. Published online. Accessed: 5 Aug 2021.
Tropicos.org 2021. Townsonia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2021 Aug 5.

Vernacular names

Townsonia, commonly called myrtle beech orchids is a genus of two species of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They form small clusters of plants with their tubers connected, each tuber with one or two leaves. The flowers are inconspicuous.

Description

Orchids in the genus Townsonia are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial 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 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 dorsal sepal wider than the lateral sepals. The petals are much smaller than the sepals. The labellum is much different in size and shape from the petals and sepals, folded lengthwise with a narrow, ridge-like callus along the mid-line.[2][3]
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.[1] Cheeseman described T. deflexa in the same publication making it the type species.[4][5] Townsonia deflexa occurs in New Zealand. The name Townsonia honours "Mr. W. Townson, of Westport", who discovered the species.[6] The only other species in this genus, Townsonia viridis is a Tasmanian endemic.[7]
See also

List of Orchidaceae genera

References

"Townsonia". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 163. ISBN 1877069124.
"Townsonia Cheeseman". Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
"Townsonia deflexa". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
"Townsonia". APNI. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
Cheeseman, Thomas F. (1906). Manual of the New Zealand Flora. Wellington, New Zealand: Government Printer. p. 691. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
Jones, David L. (1998). "Contributions to Tasmanian Orchidology". Australian Orchid Research. 3: 12.