Eriochilus dilatatus, photo taken by Tiffany Bennett
When out walking the other day I came across a bunny orchid and I thought that it would be interesting to cover it here.
The bunny orchid belongs to the plant family Orchidaceae and to the genus Eriochilus. Eriochilus is endemic to Australia and many of its species are found right here in the south-west of Western Australia. These delicate little plants occupy a variety of habitats ranging from seasonally-wet swamps to relatively dry woodlands.
The name Eriochilus means woolly lip and this refers to the densely woolly labellum, which is found in all Eriochilus species. Eriochilus can be distinguished from the Orchidaceae genus Caladenia by the presence of this woolly lip and by a smooth leaf. These orchids have the common name bunny orchid because of their prominent lateral sepals that are ear-like in appearance.
Most Eriochilus species flower in autumn when many other orchid species aren’t in flower. The species of bunny orchid that I saw when I was out walking was Eriochilus dilatatus, more commonly referred to as the white bunny orchid. Eriochilus dilatatus is a slender, perennial herb, with 1 to 20 flowers approximately 1 to 2 cm in size, on a wiry stalk. Its sepals are whitish with the upper sepal having dark red markings. The labellum is greenish with clusters of dark red hairs.
Eriochilus dilatatus can be found on coastal dunes, heath, in woodlands and in forests and grows in sandy to clayey soils. Eriochilus dilatatus is the most common Eriochilus species however there are a number of sub-species.
I highly recommend that during autumn you keep your eyes peeled for these exquisite little flowers, they are quite small and easily overlooked, but a very pretty sight.
Eriochilus dilatatus photo taken by Tiffany Bennett
Sources:
- Hoffman, N. and Brown, A. (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia 3rd Edition. Noel Hoffman. Perth, Western Australia.
- Liddelow, W.R. (2006). A Guide to Orchids of South Western Australia. R&R Publications Australia, Pty Ltd. Western Australia.
- Wheeler, J., Marchant, N. and Lewington, M. (2002). Flora of the South West of Western Australia, Volume 1. Australian Biological Resources Study and University of Western Australia Press. Perth, Western Australia.
- Florabase
