Calochilus holtzei
{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Ghostly beard orchid
| image =
| image_caption =
| genus = Calochilus
| species = holtzei
| authority = F.Muell.{{WCSP | 31759 | Calochilus holtzei}}
| synonyms =
}}
Calochilus holtzei, commonly known as the ghostly beard orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to northwestern Australia. It has a single leaf and up to twenty pale green to yellowish flowers with red markings and a labellum with a greenish "beard".
Description
Calochilus holtzei is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single leaf which is fully developed at flowering time, {{convert|300-550|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|10-20|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and triangular in cross section. Between eight and twenty pale green to yellowish flowers with red markings, {{convert|20-23|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|500-900|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The dorsal sepal is {{convert|7-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-7|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide. The lateral sepals are a similar length but narrower. The petals are {{convert|5-7|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The labellum curves downwards and is {{convert|14-17|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|9-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The base of the labellum has purple calli and two purple plates. The middle section has bristly, greenish white hairs up to {{convert|5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and there is a narrow tip about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long. Flowering occurs from December to March but each flower only lasts two or three days.{{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 =264–265}}
Taxonomy and naming
Calochilus holtzei was first formally described in 1892 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in The Victorian Naturalist from specimens collected near Port Darwin by Maurice William Holtze.{{cite web|title=Calochilus holtzei|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/525418|publisher=APNI|accessdate=26 June 2018}}{{cite journal |last1=von Mueller |first1=Ferdinand |title=Descriptions of new Australian plants, with occasional other annotations |journal=The Victorian Naturalist |date=1892 |volume=8 |issue=11 |page=180 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30019646#page/228/mode/1up |accessdate=2 July 2018}} The specific epithet (holtzei) honours the collector of the type specimen.
Distribution and habitat
The ghostly beard orchid grows with grasses in forest and woodland in the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia and on Melville Island in the Northern Territory.{{FloraBase|name=Calochilus holtzei|id=1622}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15495654}}
Category:Orchids of the Northern Territory
Category:Orchids of Western Australia