{{Short description|Species of orchid}} {{Italic title}} {{Speciesbox | name = Granite bunny orchid | image = | image_caption = | status_system = | status = | genus = Eriochilus | species = pulchellus | authority = [[Stephen Hopper|Hopper]] & [[A.P.Br.]]<ref name="WCSP">{{cite web |url=http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=346848 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814002529/http://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=346848 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 14, 2018 |title=''Eriochilus pulchellus'' |work=[[World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]] (WCSP) |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] }}</ref> | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = }}
'''''Eriochilus pulchellus''''', commonly known as the '''granite bunny orchid''',<ref name="Jones" /> is a plant in the orchid family [[Orchidaceae]] and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Western Australia]]. It has a single egg-shaped leaf and up to ten small white flowers with red markings. A relatively common species, it grows in shallow soil on granite outcrops. Its fleshy leaf is held above the ground on a thin stalk.
==Description== ''Eriochilus pulchellus'' is a terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] with an underground tuber and a single, egg-shaped to oval leaf {{convert|5-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The leaf is held above the ground on a thin stalk {{convert|20-70|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. Up to ten white flowers with a few red markings, about {{convert|10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a stem, {{convert|20-150|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, {{convert|7-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2-3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals are {{convert|10-17|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and spread forwards. The [[petal]]s are dull green with red tips and edges and are {{convert|7-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|1|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is {{convert|7-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and has three lobes. The middle lobe is {{convert|4-5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and is fleshy with dark red bristles. Flowering occurs from April to May.<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 =277}}</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=48–49 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/449.pdf |accessdate=13 August 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|page=260}}</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|page=227|edition=3rd}}</ref><ref name="Archer">{{cite web |last1=Archer |first1=William |title=Pretty bunny orchid - ''Eriochilus pulchellus'' |url=http://esperancewildflowers.blogspot.com/2009/05/pretty-bunny-orchid-eriochilus.html |publisher=Esperance Wildflowers |accessdate=13 August 2018}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and naming== ''Eriochilus pulchellus'' was first formally described in 2006 by [[Stephen Hopper]] and [[Andrew Phillip Brown|Andrew Brown]] from a specimen collected near [[Manjimup, Western Australia|Manjimup]] and the description was published in ''[[Nuytsia (journal)|Nuytsia]]''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Eriochilus pulchellus''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/615234|publisher=APNI|accessdate=13 August 2018}}</ref> The [[Botanical nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''pulchellus'') is the diminutive form of the [[Latin]] word meaning "beautiful", hence "beautiful little",<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 =132}}</ref> referring to the flowers of this orchid.<ref name="Brown" />
==Distribution and habitat== The granite bunny orchid grows on granite outcrops between [[Windy Harbour, Western Australia|Windy Harbour]] and [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]], between [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]] and [[Israelite Bay, Western Australia|Israelite Bay]] and in the [[Darling Scarp|Darling Range]] near [[Perth]].<ref name="Nuytsia" /><ref name="Brown" /><ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Eriochilus pulchellus''|id=13866}}</ref>
==Conservation== ''Eriochilus pulchellus'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]].<ref name="FloraBase" />
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from= Q10273628}}
[[Category:Eriochilus|pulchellus]] [[Category:Orchids of Western Australia]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Plants described in 2006]] [[Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia]] [[Category:Taxa named by Stephen Hopper]]