The orchid Sarcochilus hartmanii x Sarcochilus falcatus showing flower vire
scence with some evidence of stunting was found during an orchid virus surv
ey of south-east Queensland. Phytoplasma bodies were detected by thin-secti
on electron microscopy and phytoplasma DNA was detected using the polymeras
e chain reaction (PCR). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) ana
lysis was used to compare this phytoplasma with those found in dicotyledono
us plants. RFLP analysis demonstrated that this orchid phytoplasma was indi
stinguishable from the tomato big bud phytoplasma.