Eriochilus pulchellus
Eriochilus pulchellus, commonly known as the granite bunny orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single egg-shaped leaf and up to ten small white flowers with red markings. A relatively common species, it grows in shallow soil on granite outcrops. Its fleshy leaf is held above the ground on a thin stalk.Description
Eriochilus pulchellus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single, egg-shaped to oval leaf long and wide. The leaf is held above the ground on a thin stalk long. Up to ten white flowers with a few red markings, about long and wide are borne on a stem, tall. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide. The lateral sepals are long, wide and spread forwards. The petals are dull green with red tips and edges and are long and about wide. The labellum is long, about wide and has three lobes. The middle lobe is long and is fleshy with dark red bristles. Flowering occurs from April to May.Taxonomy and naming
Eriochilus pulchellus was first formally described in 2006 by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown from a specimen collected near Manjimup, [Western Australia|Manjimup] and the description was published in Nuytsia. The specific epithet is the diminutive form of the Latin word meaning "beautiful", hence "beautiful little", referring to the flowers of this orchid.Distribution and habitat
The granite bunny orchid grows on granite outcrops between Windy Harbour and Albany, between Esperance and Israelite Bay and in the Darling Range near Perth.Conservation
Eriochilus pulchellus is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and [Wildlife |Department of Parks and Wildlife].