Leptoceras

{{Short description|Genus of orchids}} {{Italic title}} {{Speciesbox | name = Rabbit orchid | image = Caladenia menziesii - Flickr 003.jpg | image_caption = ''Leptoceras menziesii'' near [[American River, South Australia|American River]] on [[Kangaroo Island]] | display_parents = 4 | genus = Leptoceras | parent_authority = [[Lindl.]] | species = menziesii | authority = ([[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|R.Br.]]) [[John Lindley|Lindl.]]<ref name="APNI" /> }}

'''''Leptoceras menziesii''''', commonly known as '''rabbit orchid''',<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=214–215|edition=3rd}}</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=271}}</ref> is a plant in the orchid [[Family (taxonomy)|family]], [[Orchidaceae]] and the only member of the [[genus]] '''''Leptoceras'''''. It is a slender plant, usually found in large colonies and which only flowers after fire. The flowers are small, white, pink and red on a stem up to {{convert|30|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall and is [[Endemism|endemic]] to southern [[Australia]]. It was one of the first orchids from [[Western Australia]] to be described and was given the name ''Caladenia menziesii'', a name still used by some authorities.

==Description== The rabbit orchid is a [[tuber]]ous [[Perennial plant|perennial]] [[Herbaceous plant|herb]] growing to a height of {{convert|6-20|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}}, sometimes {{convert|30|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} with one to three flowers. The leaf is [[Glabrousness|glabrous]], variable in size and shape but mostly lance-shaped to broadly egg-shaped to oblong, {{convert|30-120|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-23|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="Vicflora">{{cite web|title=''Leptoceras menziesii''|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/6162161f-2d18-4af4-8c33-800d5995ed84|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria|access-date=28 October 2019}}</ref><ref name="efloraSA">{{cite web|title=''Caladenia menziesii''|url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Caladenia_menziesii|publisher=Government of South Australia: eflorasa|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Archer">{{cite web|last1=Archer|first1=William|title=Rabbit orchid - ''Leptoceras menziesii''|date=18 July 2008|url=http://esperancewildflowers.blogspot.com.au/2008/07/rabbit-orchid-leptoceras-menziesii.html|publisher=Esperance Wildflowers|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref>

There are one to three small flowers, sometimes all white but more usually white, pink and red. The top [[sepal]] at the back of the flower is about {{convert|11|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, dark reddish, spoon-shaped and forms a hood over the [[Column (botany)|column]]. The back of the dorsal sepal has many [[Gland (botany)|glandular]] hairs. The lower, lateral sepals are white or pink, wide in the middle, taper towards both ends and {{convert|10-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. The [[petal]]s forming the "ears" are erect, purplish-red, very narrow linear in shape but club-shaped on the ends, {{convert|16-30|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and have many glandular hairs. The central [[labellum (botany)|labellum]] is white with pink or red markings, egg-shaped to almost circular, about {{convert|7|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and has a short [[Petal#Shape and size|claw]]. The labellum has 2 to 4 rows of [[Callus|calli]] with large heads. The column is erect with wide wings and pink markings. The species flowers from August to November, much more prolifically after recent [[Bushfires in Australia|bushfires]], and delayed in some places until after rainfall.<ref name="Hoffman" /><ref name="Brown" /><ref name="Vicflora" /><ref name="efloraSA" /><ref name="Archer" />

==Taxonomy and naming== ''Caladenia menziesii'' was one of the first three orchids collected in Western Australia. [[Archibald Menzies]] was the collector of the [[holotype]] at [[King George Sound]] in 1791 during the [[Vancouver Expedition]].<ref name="heberle">{{cite web | access-date = 3 June 2016| url = http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Eemntee/Historical1.htm | work = The Species Orchid Society of Western Australia (Inc) | title = History of Orchid Collecting in Western Australia, 1791–1971 | author = Heberle, Ron L.}}</ref> It was first formally described by [[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|Robert Brown]] and the description was published in ''[[Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen]]''.<ref name=APNI(1)>{{cite web|title=''Caladenia menziesii''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/instance/apni/514308|publisher=APNI|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="R.Br.">{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Robert|title=Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae|date=1810|location=London|page=325|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21771#page/195/mode/1up|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> In 1840, [[John Lindley]] changed the name to ''Leptoceras menziesii'' in ''The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants''.<ref name=APNI>{{cite web|title=''Leptoceras menziesii''|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/instance/apni/465152|publisher=APNI|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="Lindl.">{{cite book|last1=Lindley|first1=John|title=The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants|date=1840|publisher=Ridgways|location=Piccadilly, London|page=416|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/9889#page/428/mode/1up|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> Some herbaria continue to use the old name.<ref name="efloraSA" /> The [[Botanical name|specific epithet]] (''menziesii'') honours Archibald Menzies.<ref name="heberle" />

==Distribution and habitat== Rabbit orchid forms colonies using [[vegetative reproduction]] in a range of soil types in heath, scrub or forest, mainly in damp areas. It is widely distributed in [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Tasmania]], southern [[South Australia]] and the [[Southwest Australia|south-west]] of Western Australia.<ref name="ALA">{{cite web|title=''Leptoceras menziesii''|url=http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Leptoceras+menziesii|publisher=Atlas of Living Australia; Biodiversity Information Explorer|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref>

==Conservation== ''Leptoceras menziesii'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia [[Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia)|Department of Parks and Wildlife]].<ref name=FloraBase>{{FloraBase|name=''Leptoceras menziesii''|id=15418}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}} *{{cite book |last= Liddelow|first= Bob|title= Guide to Native Orchids of South Western Australia|year=2006 |isbn=0-9587532-4-5 |pages= 116|publisher= R & R Publications Australia}}

[[Category:Diurideae genera]] [[Category:Monotypic Orchidoideae genera]] [[Category:Caladeniinae]] [[Category:Endemic orchids of Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Western Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of South Australia]] [[Category:Orchids of Victoria (state)]] [[Category:Orchids of Tasmania]]