Prasophyllum amoenum

Prasophyllum amoenum, commonly known as the dainty leek orchid or Snug leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single tubular, green leaf with a purplish base and between five and twelve light green, dark brown and white flowers. In 2007, the entire population was estimated to be about 600 plants.

Description
Prasophyllum amoenum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single tube-shaped leaf,  long and  wide, the free part  long. Between five and twelve flowers are loosely arranged along a flowering spike  long reaching to a height of . The flowers are greenish,  long and  wide with dark brown lateral sepals, white and red petals and a white or pinkish labellum. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is a narrow egg-shape to lance-shape,  long and about  wide. The lateral sepals are up to  long and spread apart from each other. The petals are narrow linear to lance-shaped,  long and about  wide. The labellum is  long and turns upwards, sometimes extending above the lateral sepals and its edges are wavy. Flowering occurs in January.

Taxonomy and naming
Prasophyllum amoenum was first formally described in 1998 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Snug and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. The specific epithet (amoenum) is a Latin word meaning "pleasant" or "delightful".

Distribution and habitat
The dainty leek orchid grows with rushes, sedges and grasses in south-eastern Tasmania.

Conservation
Prasophyllum amoenum is only found in five populations containing a total of 500-600 plants. In some years, no plants have been observed in flower because of drought or browsing. The species is classified as Vulnerable under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 and as Endangered under the Commonwealth Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act.

References

amoenum
Category:Endemic flora of Tasmania
Category:Endemic orchids of Australia
Category:Plants described in 1998