Slender bunny orchid facts for kids

The slender bunny orchid (Eriochilus tenuis) is a unique and pretty plant that belongs to the orchid family. It gets its common name because its flowers look a bit like a bunny's ears! This special orchid only grows in Western Australia. It has a single, flat, egg-shaped leaf and small pink or pink and white flowers. You can often find it growing in thick forests and wet, swampy areas during winter.

What Does the Slender Bunny Orchid Look Like?

The slender bunny orchid is a terrestrial plant, which means it grows in the ground. It's also a perennial, so it lives for more than two years. This plant is a deciduous herb, meaning its leaves fall off at certain times, and it doesn't have a woody stem.

Under the ground, it has a special part called a tuber, which stores food. Above ground, it grows a single, egg-shaped leaf that lies flat on the soil. This leaf is usually about 10 to 40 millimeters (0.4 to 1.6 inches) long and 5 to 15 millimeters (0.2 to 0.6 inches) wide.

Flowers of the Slender Bunny Orchid

The slender bunny orchid has one or two pink or white flowers. Each flower is about 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) long and wide. These flowers grow on a stem that can be 70 to 150 millimeters (2.8 to 5.9 inches) tall.

Let's look closely at the flower parts:

• The dorsal sepal (the top part of the flower) is egg-shaped and about 6 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long.
• The lateral sepals (the side parts) are longer, about 9 to 11 millimeters (0.4 to 0.4 inches) long, and spread out.
• The petals are narrow and shaped like a small spoon. They are 5 to 7 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long and stay close to the top sepal.
• The labellum (the orchid's special lip) is pink and has three parts, called lobes. The middle lobe is fleshy and covered with tiny red bristles.

This orchid usually flowers from September to November. You might see even more flowers if there was a bushfire in the area the summer before!

Naming the Slender Bunny Orchid

The scientific name for the slender bunny orchid is Eriochilus tenuis. It was first officially described in 1840 by a person named John Lindley. He wrote about it in a book called A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.

The second part of its scientific name, tenuis, comes from a Latin word that means "thin." This refers to the delicate, thin shape of this orchid.

Where Does the Slender Bunny Orchid Live?

The slender bunny orchid is found only in Western Australia. It likes to grow in places that get very wet during the winter, like swamps. You can also find it in mossy areas on top of granite rocks. It grows in the region between the cities of Perth and Albany.

Protecting the Slender Bunny Orchid

Good news! The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife says that Eriochilus tenuis is "not threatened." This means there are enough of these orchids, and they are not currently at risk of disappearing.