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Calochilus robertsonii
Also called Woodland Bearded Orchid
Calochilus robertsonii is a deciduous terrestrial orchid from eastern Australia and the North Island of New Zealand, grown from an underground tuber with a single leaf and flowers bearing a purple beard. It is a wild native rather than a common garden subject, and the key to growing it is to mimic its dormancy and keep the tuber in lightly shaded, well-drained woodland conditions.
Calochilus robertsonii, commonly known as purple beard orchid or purplish beard orchid, is a species of orchid native to Australia and New Zealand. It has a single dark green leaf and up to nine green to brown flowers with reddish or purplish stripes. The labellum has a glossy purple, mauve, or bronze-coloured beard with a ridge between the "eye" spots.
Purplish beard orchid is widespread and common in eastern Australia where it grows in a range of habitats from heath to forest and scrubland and from coast to mountains. It is found in Queensland south from Gympie, from coastal districts and inland as far as Condobolin in New South Wales, throughout most of Victoria and in South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and Tasmania. In New Zealand, C. robertsonii only occurs on the North Island although a single specimen was collected on the northern tip of the South Island in 1965.
Calochilus ammobius · Wiry beard orchid · Blue beard orchid · Copper Beard Orchid · Pallid beard orchid · Slender beard orchid · Giant beard orchid · Pale beard orchid · Ghostly beard orchid · Imperial beard orchid · Metallic beard orchid · Mountain beard orchid
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Calochilus robertsonii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
