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Bonnet orchid

Cryptostylis erecta

Also called Tartan Tounge Orchid

Bonnet orchid
Photo: Poyt448 Peter Woodard, Public domain
Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Native range
SE. Queensland to S. Victoria
Climate
subtropical

About

Cryptostylis erecta, commonly known as the bonnet orchid or tartan tongue orchid , is an orchid endemic to south eastern Australia. A small and common plant, it has dark green lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves and up to twelve greenish flowers with a large, bonnet-like or hood-like, lilac-coloured labellum with a network of purple veins.

How to grow it

Cryptostylis erecta has been successfully grown by orchid enthusiasts, but is slow growing. The rhizomes are delicate and resent disturbance, and need to be moist at all times.

Where it grows

The natural habitat of C. erecta is on sandy soils, dry eucalyptus woodlands and heathlands. Its range extends from the Kroombit Tops National Park in Queensland south through New South Wales to east Gippsland in Victoria. It occurs mostly in coastal districts, although it is also found in the Upper Blue Mountains.

Other Cryptostylis plants

Leafless tongue orchid · Small tongue orchid · Slipper orchid · Large tongue orchid · Cryptostylis

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cryptostylis erecta by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

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.

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