Calochilus caeruleus
Calochilus caeruleus, commonly known as wiry beard orchid, is a species of orchid native to northern Australia and New Guinea. It has a single leaf which continues to develop during flowering and up to twelve greenish flowers with reddish brown markings and a labellum with a red "beard".Description
Calochilus caeruleus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single leaf which is only partly developed at flowering time but is long and wide when fully mature. Between four and twelve short-lived greenish flowers with reddish brown markings, long and wide are borne on a thin, wiry flowering stem tall. The dorsal sepal is long and wide. The lateral sepals are a similar length but narrower. The petals are long and wide. The labellum is flat, long and wide. The base of the labellum has purple calli and two purple plates. The middle section has stiff red hairs up to long and the tip is hairless. The column lacks the sham "eyes" of most other beard orchids. Flowering occurs from December to January but each flower only lasts one or two days.Taxonomy and naming
Calochilus caeruleus was first formally described in 1946 by Louis Otho Williams and the description was published in Botanical Museum Leaflets from specimens collected near Tarara on the Wassi Kussa River in the west of Papua New Guinea. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "sky blue".Distribution and habitat
Wiry beard orchid grows in swamps, wet forests, heath and woodland in New Guinea, the Northern Territory including Melville Island and in Tropical [North Queensland] as far south as Cardwell.