{{Short description|Species of orchid endemic to Western Australia}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2024}} {{Speciesbox | name = Slipper orchid | image = Cryptostylis ovata.jpg | image_caption = At [[Emu Point, Western Australia|Emu Point]] near [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] | status = | status_system = | taxon = Cryptostylis ovata | authority = [[R.Br.]]<ref name="APC">{{cite web |title=''Cryptostylis ovata'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/89039 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref> | synonyms = }} [[File:cryptostylis ovata habit.jpg|thumb|Whole plant]]
'''''Cryptostylis ovata''''', commonly known as '''slipper orchid''' or '''western tongue orchid''',<ref name="Jones" /> is an orchid [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Western Australia]]. It is a common, summer flowering species with dark green leaves with a white central vein and up to fifteen pale greenish flowers with a brownish red [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] with a network of darker veins.
==Description== ''Cryptostylis ovata'' is a terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] which usually grows in colonies although only a few plants may flower in any one year. It has one to several egg-shaped leaves {{convert|100-250|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|40-80|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide on a [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] {{convert|30-60|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. The leaves are dark green with a central white vein on the upper surface and purplish red below. This species is the only orchid in Western Australia to have leaves throughout the year. Between four and fifteen flowers {{convert|20-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|15-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a flower stem {{convert|250-700|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} high. The [[sepal]]s and [[petal]]s are greenish yellow, the sepals {{convert|20-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4-5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide and the petals shorter and narrower. The most prominent feature of the flower is its labellum which is {{convert|26-30|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|10-14|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide when flattened, projects stiffly forwards and is reddish brown with a fine network of darker veins. Flowering occurs from November to February.<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=David L.|title=A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories|date=2006|publisher=New Holland|location=Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.|isbn=1877069124|page =269}}</ref><ref name="Brown">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Andrew|last2=Dixon|first2=Kingsley|last3=French|first3=Christopher|last4=Brockman|first4=Garry|title=Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia|date=2013|publisher=Simon Nevill Publications|isbn=9780980348149|pages=178–179}}</ref><ref name=Hoffman>{{cite book|last1=Hoffman|first1=Noel|last2=Brown|first2=Andrew|title=Orchids of South-West Australia.|date=2011|publisher=Noel Hoffman|location=Gooseberry Hill|isbn=9780646562322|pages=392–393|edition=3rd}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== ''Cryptostylis ovata'' was first formally described in 1810 by [[Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)|Robert Brown]] and the description was published in ''[[Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen]]''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Cryptostylis ovata''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/509933|publisher=APNI|accessdate=5 July 2018}}</ref><ref name="R.Br.">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Robert|title=Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen|date=1810|location=London|page=317|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21871#page/185/mode/1up|accessdate=5 July 2018}}</ref> The [[Botanical nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''ovata'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "egg-shaped",<ref name="RWB">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page = 580}}</ref> referring to the shape of the leaves.<ref name="Brown" />
==Distribution and habitat== The slipper orchid is widespread and common in a wide range of habitats from coastal scrub to high rainfall forests. It is mainly found between [[Perth]] and [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] but sometimes further east, in the [[Esperance Plains]], [[Jarrah Forest]], [[Swan Coastal Plain]] and [[Warren (biogeographic region)|Warren]] [[IBRA|biogeographic regions]].<ref name="Jones" /><ref name="Brown" /><ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Cryptostylis ovata''|id=1627}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons-inline|italic=1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10262001}}
[[Category:Cryptostylis|ovata]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Western Australia]] [[Category:Plants described in 1810]] [[Category:Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)]]