Calochilus montanus
{{Short description|Species of orchid}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Mountain beard orchid
| image = Calochilus montanus.jpg
| image_caption = Calochilus montanus on Black Mountain in the A.C.T.
| genus = Calochilus
| species = montanus
| authority = D.L.Jones{{WCSP | 346304 | Calochilus montanus}}
| synonyms_ref =
| synonyms =
}}
Calochilus therophilus, commonly known as the mountain beard orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. It has a single fleshy, channelled, dark green leaf and up to fifteen green flowers with reddish lines. The labellum has two shiny metallic blue to purple plates near its base and there is no ridge between the two "eyes" on the column.
Description
Calochilus montanus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single fleshy, channelled, dark green, linear to lance-shaped leaf, {{convert|150-250|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|7-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The leaf is fully developed when the first flower opens. Between two and fifteen green flowers with reddish lines are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|400-900|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The dorsal sepal is more or less erect, {{convert|9-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4-6|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=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The labellum curves forwards and is {{convert|11-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-6|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} wide with two shiny metallic blue to purple plates near its base. The middle part of the labellum has bristly hairs up to {{convert|4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} and the tip has a glandular "tail" {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long. The column has two purple "eyes" but lacks a ridge between them. Flowering occurs from October to December.{{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 =259}}{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=David L. |title=New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae |journal=Australian Orchid Research |date=2006 |volume=5 |page =66}}
Taxonomy and naming
Calochilus montanus was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research from a specimen collected on Black Mountain in the Australian Capital Territory.{{cite web|title=Calochilus montanus|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/616265|publisher=APNI|accessdate=24 June 2018}} The specific epithet (montanus) is a Latin word meaning "of mountains",{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =536}} referring to the habitat of this species.
Distribution and habitat
The mountain beard orchid grows in open forest on mountain slopes. It occurs in the Australian Capital Territory and in New South Wales south from the Moonbi Range.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15496236}}
Category:Endemic orchids of Australia
Category:Orchids of New South Wales