Eriochilus scaber

{{Short description|Species of orchid}} {{Italic title}} {{Speciesbox | image = Eriochilus scaber - Pink Bunny orchid (7655293948).jpg | image_caption = | status_system = | status = | genus = Eriochilus | species = scaber | authority = [[Stephen Hopper|Hopper]] & [[A.P.Br.]]<ref name="APC">{{cite web |title=''Eriochilus scaber'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/89669|publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> | synonyms_ref = <ref name="APC" /> | synonyms = * ''Eriochilus lindleyi'' [[Endl.]] * ''Eriochilus scaber'' var. ''lindleyi'' (Endl.) [[Rchb.f.]] }}

'''''Eriochilus scaber''''' is a plant in the orchid family [[Orchidaceae]] and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[Western Australia]]. It has a single leaf and up to three small red, pink and white flowers. Two subspecies are recognised based on the shape of the leaf and its height above the ground.

==Description== ''Eriochilus scaber'' is a terrestrial, [[Perennial plant|perennial]], [[deciduous]], [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] with an underground tuber and a single [[wikt:glabrous|glabrous]], yellowish green leaf which is egg-shaped to almost round. Up to three red, pink and white flowers, about {{convert|10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and wide are borne on a thin green stem, {{convert|70-150|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The [[wikt:dorsal|dorsal]] [[sepal]] is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, {{convert|6-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2-3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] sepals are broadly lance-shaped, {{convert|8-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|3-5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and hairy on the lower side. The [[petal]]s are narrow [[wikt:spatula|spatula]]-shaped, {{convert|5-8|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|2|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and held close to the dorsal sepal. The [[Labellum (botany)|labellum]] is {{convert|6-8|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|2.5-3.5|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and is fleshy with red bristles. Flowering occurs from July to September.<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|pages =277–278}}</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=49–54 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/449.pdf |accessdate=14 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=264}}</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=231|edition=3rd}}</ref>

==Taxonomy and naming== ''Eriochilus scaber'' 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 scaber''|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/510909|publisher=APNI|accessdate=14 August 2018}}</ref> The [[Botanical nomenclature|specific epithet]] (''scaber'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "rough" or "scurfy",<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 =670}}</ref> referring to the surface of the labellum.<ref name="Brown" />

In 2006, [[Stephen Hopper]] and [[Andrew Phillip Brown]] described two subspecies of ''E. scaber'' in the journal ''[[Nuytsia journal|Nuytsia]]'', and the names are accepted by the [[Australian Plant Census]]: * ''Eriochilus scaber'' Lindl. subsp. ''scaber'', commonly known as '''pink bunny orchid''',<ref name="APC1">{{cite web |title=''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''scaber'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/205903|publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> which has a more or less erect, egg-shaped leaf held {{convert|2-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} above the ground.<ref name="Nuytsia1">{{cite journal |last1=Hopper |first1=Stephen D. |last2=Brown |first2=Andrew P. |title=Contributions to Western Australian orchidology: 3. new and reinstated taxa in Eriochilus. |journal=Nuytsia |date=2006 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=52–54 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/61647816#page/58/mode/1up |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> * ''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''orbifolius'' Hopper & A.P.Br.,<ref name="APC2">{{cite web |title=''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''orbifolius'' |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/205904|publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> commonly known as '''round-leafed bunny orchid''', which has an almost circular leaf held close to the ground.<ref name="Nuytsia1" />

==Distribution and habitat== This bunny orchid grows in winter-wet areas between [[Jurien Bay, Western Australia|Jurien Bay]] and the [[Cape Arid National Park]]. Subspecies ''orbifolius'' is restricted to a small area of old sand dunes near [[Walpole, Western Australia|Walpole]].<ref name="Nuytsia" /><ref name="Brown" /><ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name=FloraBase1>{{FloraBase|name=''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''scaber''|id=15415}}</ref><ref name=FloraBase2>{{FloraBase|name=''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''orbifolius''|id=14304}}</ref>

==Conservation== ''Eriochilus scaber'' subsp. ''scaber'' is classified as "not threatened"<ref name="FloraBase1" /> but subspecies ''orbifolius'' is classified as "[[Declared Rare and Priority Flora List|Priority Two]]" by the Western Australian Government [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]]<ref name="FloraBase2" /> meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.<ref name=codes>{{cite web|title=Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna|url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf|publisher=Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife|accessdate=10 August 2019}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Eriochilus|scaber]] [[Category:Orchids of Western Australia]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Plants described in 1840]] [[Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia]] [[Category:Taxa named by Stephen Hopper]]