Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. dilatatus
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| White bunny orchid | |
|---|---|
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| Eriochilus dilatatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Eriochilus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | E. d. subsp. dilatatus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. dilatatus | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. dilatatus, commonly known as the white bunny orchid,[3] is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single narrow leaf and up to seven greenish and white flowers with reddish or mauve markings. A widespread and common species, it grows in a range of habitats and flowers prolifically after fire.
Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. dilatatus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single narrow egg-shaped, flattened, glabrous leaf, 29–90 mm (1–4 in) long, 4–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide. The leaf is dark green and held above ground on a stalk up to 150 mm (6 in) long. Between two and seven flowers 14–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long and 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem 100–300 mm (4–10 in) tall. The flowers are greenish with reddish markings, except for the lateral sepals which are white. The dorsal sepal is spatula-shaped, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The lateral sepals are 13–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide on a stalk about 3 mm (0.1 in) long. The petals are 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The labellum 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide with three lobes and scattered clusters of red and white hairs. Flowering occurs from March to June.[1][3][4][5]
Taxonomy and naming
The white bunny orchid was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley who gave it the name Eriochilus latifolius and published the description in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[6] In 1873, George Bentham changed the name to Eriochilus dilatatus var. latifolius[7] and in 2006, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown changed the name to E. dilatatus subsp. dilatatus.[2] The specific epithet (dilatatus) is a Latin word meaning "spread out", "enlarge", or "extend".[8]