Archive of Vanished Flora
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Pale Phantom Flower Umbraflora pallida
Specimen · N°023 · Darkness

Umbraflora pallida

A flower with no green at all blooms only on the dark forest floor.

FOUND 1.5°N 114.0°E · Lowland rainforest of Borneo  ·  ✝ EX · Last seen 2003

A small plant 5–9 cm tall. Lacking chlorophyll, it is translucent white throughout. It has no ordinary leaves, only small white scale-like bracts on the stem, and bears a single bluish-white urn-shaped flower at the tip. It takes its nourishment from fungi underground.

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Specimen Plates

8 plates · click to enlarge
Pale Phantom Flower plate 1PLATE I
Pale Phantom Flower plate 2PLATE II
Pale Phantom Flower plate 3PLATE III
Pale Phantom Flower plate 4PLATE IV
Pale Phantom Flower plate 5PLATE V
Pale Phantom Flower plate 6PLATE VI
Pale Phantom Flower plate 7PLATE VII
Pale Phantom Flower plate 8PLATE VIII
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Field Note

Habitat
Lowland rainforest of Borneo. The dark floor of a limestone valley where light barely reaches.
Local name
Flower of the Shadow
Folklore
Locally, whoever found it was said to be able to return without losing their way, even in the deep forest.
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Locator

Coordinates
1.5°N 114.0°E
Lowland rainforest of Borneo
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Record

A flower with no green at all blooms only on the dark forest floor.

It is a plant that gave up using light for itself.

The dim tropical forest of Borneo.

A dark limestone valley where light barely reaches.

The Pale Phantom Flower is translucent white throughout and bears no ordinary leaves.

Instead, it links to fungi underground and takes its nourishment from them alone.

More分類・学名・語源などの詳しい標本データ
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Classification

Classification & specimen data
Scientific name
Umbraflora pallida  Y. Aoki, 1996
Taxonomy
Plantae › Angiosperms › Dicotyledons › UmbrafloralesUmbrafloraceaeUmbraflora › pallida
Voucher
AVF-023 · Holotype
Archive of Vanished Flora (AVF)
Conservation
✝ EX — Extinct Last seen 2003
Collector
N. Drei
1993-12-27
Synonym
Umbraopsis pallida T. Okabe, 1991
Protologue (Latin)
Herba perennis, rhizomate tenui, foliis linearibus, inflorescentia pauciflora. Typus: Lowland rainforest of Borneo. Species iam extincta.
Discovered / Described
1993 / 1996
Height
5〜9cm
Life form
Perennial herb
Phyllotaxy
Alternate
Chromosome
2n = 36
Flowering
The season after disturbance (eruption/fire)
Pollination
Small flies and wasps
Substrate · pH
Calcareous, weakly alkaline (pH 7.5+)
Elevation
200〜1,200 m
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Etymology

Etymology of the name
UmbrafloraGENUS
umbrashadow
florflower
pallidaEPITHET
pallidapale
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Related

Specimens of the same habitat
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