'' Calochilus therophilus'', commonly known as the late beard orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has a single channelled, dark green leaf with a reddish base and up to fifteen dull greenish flowers with bold red stripes. The labellum has a dark purplish beard with two "eye" spots. Unlike that of other beard orchids, there is no prominent ridge between the eye spots.

Description

''Calochilus therophilus'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with an underground tuber and a single fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped, dark green leaf, long and wide with a reddish purple base. The leaf is fully developed when the first flower opens. Between three and fifteen dull greenish flowers with bold red stripes are borne on a flowering stem tall. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide. The lateral sepals are a similar length but narrower. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are long and about wide. The labellum curves forwards and is long and wide with short, thick, purple calli near its base. The middle section of the labellum has coarse hairs up to and the tip has a glandular "tail" long. The

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

has two purple coloured "eyes" joined by a faint ridge. Flowering occurs from December to March.

Taxonomy and naming

''Calochilus therophilus'' was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research'' from a specimen collected on

Black Mountain Black Mountain may refer to: Places Australia * Black Mountain (Australian Capital Territory), a mountain in Canberra * Black Mountain, New South Wales, a village in Armidale Regional Council, New South Wales * Black Mountain, Queensland, a loca ...

in the Australian Capital Territory. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''therophilus'') is derived from the Greek words ''theros'' meaning "summer" and ''philos'' "loving", referring to the summer flowering period of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

The late beard orchid grows in open forest or with grasses and shrubs on mountain slopes. It occurs in central eastern Queensland, eastern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and north-eastern Victoria.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15495615 therophilus Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of the Australian Capital Territory Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 2006