{{Short description|Species of orchid}} {{Italic title}} {{speciesbox | name = White bunny orchid | image = Eriochilus dilatatus undulatus.jpg | image_caption = ''Eriochilus dilatatus undulatus'' growing in [[Swan View, Western Australia|Swan View]] | status_system = | status = | genus = Eriochilus | species = dilatatus | authority = [[Lindl.]]<ref name="APNI" /> | synonyms_ref = <ref name="APNI" /> | synonyms = }}
'''''Eriochilus dilatatus''''', commonly known as the '''white bunny orchid''',<ref name="Jones" /> is a plant in the orchid family [[Orchidaceae]] and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Western Australia]]. It is a common and widespread, slender ground orchid with a single leaf and up to fifteen small white and greenish flowers with reddish or brownish markings and a hairy [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]].
==Description== ''Eriochilus dilatatus'' is a terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] with an underground tuber. Plants in flower have a single, egg-shaped leaf {{convert|15-75|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and attached about halfway up the flowering stem. Plants not in flower usually have a larger leaf on a stalk {{convert|60-150|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. Up to fifteen, usually more than three white and greenish flowers {{convert|12-18|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|100-350|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] is [[wikt:spatula|spatula]]-shaped, {{convert|5-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals are white or cream-coloured, {{convert|7-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2.5-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[petal]]s are greenish with brownish-red stripes, {{convert|5-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|1|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and more or less erect. The [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is greenish cream, {{convert|6-11|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3-5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with clusters of cream-coloured to pale purple hairs, and is prominently curved downwards. Flowering occurs between March and June with some subspecies flowering more prolifically after fire.<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="Nuytsia">{{cite journal |last1=Hopper |first1=Stephen |last2=Brown |first2=Andrew Phillip |title=New and reinstated taxa in ''Eriochilus'' |journal=Nuytsia |date=2006 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=33–36 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/449.pdf |accessdate=15 July 2018}}</ref><ref name=Brown>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Andrew|last2=Dundas|first2=Pat|last3=Dixon|first3=Kingsley|last4=Hopper|first4=Stephen|title=Orchids of Western Australia|date=2008|publisher=University of Western Australia Press|location=Crawley, Western Australia|isbn=9780980296457|pages=254–256}}</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=220–221|edition=3rd}}</ref>
==Taxonomy, naming and distribution== ''Eriochilus dilatatus'' was first formally described in 1840 by [[John Lindley]] and the description was published in ''[[A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony]]''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus dilatatus''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/510706|publisher=APNI|accessdate=15 July 2018}}</ref> The [[Botanical nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''dilatatus'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "spread out", "enlarge", or "extend",<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 =743}}</ref> referring to the broad labellum and lateral sepals.<ref name="Brown" />
There are six subspecies: * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. dilatatus|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''dilatatus'']] which grows in shrubland and woodland in near-coastal areas between [[Dirk Hartog Island]] and [[Israelite Bay, Western Australia|Israelite Bay]]; * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. brevifolius|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''brevifolius'']] which grows in shrubland between [[Cataby, Western Australia|Cataby]] and the [[Murchison River (Western Australia)|Murchison River]]; * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. magnus|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''magnus'']] which grows in high rainfall areas between [[Perth]] and [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]]; * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''multiflorus'']] found in woodland and forest between [[Jurien Bay, Western Australia|Jurien Bay]] and Albany; * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. orientalis|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''orientalis'']] which is only found near [[Caiguna, Western Australia|Caiguna]]; * [[Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. undulatus|''E. dilatatus'' subsp. ''undulatus'']] which is the most widespread subspecies and grows in a range of habitats between [[Mullewa, Western Australia|Mullewa]] and [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]].
==Ecology== All bunny orchids are pollinated by small native bees, attracted to nectar at the base of the labellum.<ref name="Jones" />
==Use in horticulture== ''Eriochilus'' species are generally easily grown in pots in a bushhouse or cool glasshouse. They need to be watered regularly when growing but kept dry when dormant during summer.<ref name="Jones" />{{rp|275,301}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from= Q10273623}}
[[Category:Eriochilus|dilatatus]] [[Category:Plants described in 1840]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Western Australia]] [[Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia]]