{{Short description|Species of orchid}} {{Italic title}} {{speciesbox | name = Parson's bands | image = Eriochilus cucullatus.jpg | image_caption = ''Eriochilus cucullatus'' growing near [[Oxley Wild Rivers National Park#Dangars Gorge and Falls|Dangars Falls]] | status_system = | status = | genus = Eriochilus | species = cucullatus | authority = ([[Labill.]]) [[Rchb.f.]]<ref name="APNI" /> | synonyms_ref = <ref name="APNI" /> | synonyms = ''Epipactis cucullata'' <small>[[Labill.]]</small> }}
'''''Eriochilus cucullatus''''', commonly known as '''parson's bands''',<ref name="RBGV" /> or '''leafless parson's bands''',<ref name="Jones" /> is a plant in the orchid family [[Orchidaceae]] and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Australia]]. It is a common and widespread, slender ground orchid with a single leaf and up to five small white to pale pink flowers. It grows in all Australian states except [[Western Australia]] and the [[Northern Territory]]. [[File:Eriochilus cucullatus (scaled).jpg|thumb|225px|flowers with index finger for scale]][[File:Thomas Chalmers by David Octavius Hill, c1843-47.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Thomas Chalmers]] with parson's bands]]
==Description== ''Eriochilus cucullatus'' is a terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] with an underground tuber. It has a single, egg-shaped, dark green, slightly rough and hairy leaf which is not fully developed until after flowering, when it is {{convert|15-35|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|7-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. Up to five white to pale pink flowers {{convert|15-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|12-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a slender spike, {{convert|100-250|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] is spoon-shaped to lance shaped with the narrower end towards its base, {{convert|5-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and forms a hood over the [[Column (botany)|column]]. The enlarged [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals are {{convert|10-13|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and white to pale pink. The [[petal]]s are reddish-green, {{convert|6-7|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|1|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and slightly enlarged near the tip. The [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is white, green or yellowish, {{convert|6-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and fleshy with tufts of short red and white hairs. Flowering occurs from December to June.<ref name="RBGV">{{cite web|last1=Jeanes|first1=Jeff|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus''|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/332fe3f2-992b-4abf-93bd-bdcb37613bf63|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref><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 =275}}</ref><ref name="RBGS">{{cite web|last1=Murray|first1=Loiusa|last2=Weston|first2=Peter|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus'' complex|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Eriochilus~cucullatus+complex|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney; plantnet|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="Clements">{{cite book|last1=Clements|first1=Mark A.|title=The Allure of Orchids|date=2013|publisher=National Library of Australia|location=Canberra, A.C.T.|isbn=9780642278074|page=64}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== This orchid was first formally described in 1805 by [[Jacques Labillardière]] who gave it the name ''Epipactis cucullata'' and published the description in ''[[Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen]]''.<ref name=APNI(1)>{{cite web|title=''Epipactis cucullatus''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/536902|publisher=APNI|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref> In 1871 [[Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach|Heinrich Reichenbach]] changed the name to ''Eriochilus cucullatus''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/510672|publisher=APNI|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref> The [[Botanical nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''cucullatus'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "hooded"<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 =241}}</ref> and the common name, "parson's bands" refers to the white (or pink) lateral sepals resembling a [[clerical collar]].<ref name="Clements" />
==Distribution and habitat== Parson's bands is widespread in [[Tasmania]],<ref name="understorey">{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus''|url=http://www.understorey-network.org.au/family-index.html?species=Eriochilus%20cucullatus|publisher=The Understorey Network|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref> in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] apart from the far north-west,<ref name="RBGV" /> eastern [[New South Wales]] as far west as [[Grenfell, New South Wales|Grenfell]],<ref name="RBGS" /> south-east [[Queensland]] and south-east [[South Australia]].<ref name="ALA">{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus''|url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/name/apni/89523|publisher=Atlas of Living Australia|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref> It grows in a wide range of habitats, from grassland to forest and from coastal areas to [[Montane ecosystems#Subalpine zone|subalpine]] zones.<ref name="RBGV" /><ref name="RBGS" />
==Use in horticulture== ''Eriochilus cucullatus'' is sometimes grown in pots by orchid enthusiasts but requires specialist techniques.<ref name="ANPSA">{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus cucullatus''|url=http://anpsa.org.au/e-cuc.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eriochilus cucullatus}} [[Category:Eriochilus|cucullatus]] [[Category:Plants described in 1805]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Australia]]