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Mountain sprite orchid

Liparis petricola

Liparis petricola is a small terrestrial orchid endemic to far north Queensland, growing in rainforest leaf litter on granite boulders. It needs shade, humidity and very well-drained, humus-rich growing conditions.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep the medium evenly moist during growth and reduce watering in the dry season.
Soil
Free-draining mix of bark, leaf mould and a little grit, or moss over rock.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Hard
Native range
Queensland
Climate
wet tropical

About

Liparis petricola, commonly known as the mountain sprite orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is endemic to Queensland. It is a terrestrial orchid with two or three egg-shaped leaves and between three and fifteen deep reddish purple flowers with a green column. It grows in rainforest in tropical far North Queensland.

Where it grows

Liparis petricola grows in rainforest, often in leaf litter on large granite boulders and is found between Kuranda and the Kirrama National Park.

Other Liparis plants

Twisted sphinx orchid · Liparis bautingensis · Yellow sphinx orchid · Fairy sphinx orchid · Tapered sphinx orchid · Liparis crenulata · Liparis deistelii · Liparis elegans · Liparis fissipetala · Slender sphinx orchid · Liparis goodyeroides · Liparis grossa

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Liparis petricola 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.

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