Christmas Island caterpillar orchid facts for kids

The Phreatia listeri, often called the Christmas Island caterpillar orchid, is a unique plant from the orchid family. It's an epiphyte, which means it grows on other plants, like trees, but doesn't take nutrients from them. This orchid has four to six flat, blunt leaves that are arranged like a fan. It also grows many tiny, greenish-white flowers on a thin stem. You can only find this special orchid on Christmas Island.

What Does It Look Like?

The Christmas Island caterpillar orchid is a plant that grows in clumps. It has a short stem and thin roots that help it attach to trees. It usually has between four and six flat, dark green leaves. These leaves are about 40 to 110 millimeters (1.6 to 4.3 inches) long and 2 to 5 millimeters (0.08 to 0.2 inches) wide. They are arranged in a fan shape.

This orchid produces many small, greenish-white flowers. Each flower is tiny, only about 1 to 1.5 millimeters (0.04 to 0.06 inches) long and wide. They grow along a thin flowering stem that can be 40 to 80 millimeters (1.6 to 3.1 inches) long. The sepals and petals of the flower are very small, about 0.8 millimeters (0.03 inches) long, and they don't spread out much. The labellum (which is like a special lip on the orchid flower) is about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) long and wide. These orchids usually bloom between September and October.

How It Was Named

The Phreatia listeri was first officially described in 1890 by a scientist named Robert Allen Rolfe. He published his description in a science journal called the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany. The second part of its scientific name, listeri, was chosen to honor Joseph Jackson Lister. He helped collect the first example of this plant, called the type specimen, along with John Maclear and others from a ship called H.M.S. Egeria.

Where It Lives

This orchid is found only on Christmas Island. It is quite common there, especially growing on trees in the rainforest.