Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus

Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single smooth, flattened, egg-shaped leaf, {{convert|10-40|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5-11|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The leaf is held above ground on a stalk up to {{convert|100|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and is often not fully developed at flowering time. When plants are not flowering, the leaf is much larger. Up to twenty flowers {{convert|10-15|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|10-12|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide are borne on a flowering stem {{convert|250-450|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall. The flowers are greenish with reddish markings, except for the lateral sepals which are white and are often crowded along the flowering stem. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped to spatula-shaped, {{convert|8-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|3|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The lateral sepals are {{convert|10-17|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|2-4|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide. The petals are {{convert|6-9|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, about {{convert|1|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide and turned towards the dorsal sepal. The labellum is greenish to cream-coloured with red spots, {{convert|8-10|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|2.5-4.5|mm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} wide with three lobes and scattered clusters of red and white bristles. Flowering occurs from March to June and is enhanced by fire the previous summer.{{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=41–42 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/449.pdf |accessdate=23 June 2018}}{{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 =276–277}}{{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=258}}{{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=223|edition=3rd}}

The common bunny orchid was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley who gave it the name Eriochilus multiflorus and published the description in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.{{cite web|title=Eriochilus multiflorus|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/510886|publisher=APNI|accessdate=14 July 2018}} In 2006, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown reduced it to subspecies status.{{cite web|title=Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/615230|publisher=APNI|accessdate=14 July 2018}} The subspecies epithet (multiflorus) is a Latin word meaning "many-flowered".{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page=28}}}

The common bunny orchid is widespread and common in woodland and forest between Perth and Albany.{{FloraBase|name=Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus|id=15412}}

Eriochilus dilatatus subsp. multiflorus is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

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dilatatus

Category:Orchids of Western Australia

Category:Endemic orchids of Australia

Category:Plants described in 2006

Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia