Mount Wilson midge orchid facts for kids

The Mount Wilson midge orchid (also known as Genoplesium eriochilum or Corunastylis eriochila) is a tiny orchid that grows only in the Blue Mountains of Australia. It's a special plant because it's endemic there, meaning it's found nowhere else in the world! This little orchid has a thin leaf that's joined to its flower stem. It can have up to twenty small, dark purplish-brown flowers packed closely together. You'll often find it growing among small bushes and grass-like plants called sedges.

What Does the Mount Wilson Midge Orchid Look Like?

The Mount Wilson midge orchid is a plant that grows from an underground tuber (like a small potato). It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also deciduous, so it loses its leaves at certain times.

It has one thin leaf, about 100 to 200 millimeters (4 to 8 inches) long. This leaf is joined to the flowering stem. The part of the leaf that isn't joined is only about 8 to 12 millimeters (0.3 to 0.5 inches) long.

The plant produces between five and twenty dark purplish-brown flowers. These flowers are crowded together on a stem that is 10 to 25 millimeters (0.4 to 1 inch) tall. The flower stem is much taller than the leaf.

Each flower is about 4.5 millimeters (0.18 inches) long and 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) wide. They usually lean downwards. Like other orchids in its group, the flowers are upside down! This means the labellum (a special lip-like petal) is above the column (the part with the pollen) instead of below it.

All the parts of the flower – the sepals (outer leaf-like parts), petals, and labellum – have tiny hairs on their edges. The top sepal is about 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) long. The two side sepals are about 3.5 millimeters (0.14 inches) long and spread wide apart. The petals are about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long.

The labellum is thick and fleshy, about 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) long. It has a pointed tip. There's also a raised area called a callus in the middle of the labellum. This orchid usually blooms from November to January.

How Did the Mount Wilson Midge Orchid Get Its Name?

The Mount Wilson midge orchid was first officially described in 1885. A botanist named Robert D. FitzGerald gave it the name Prasophyllum eriochilum.

Later, in 1989, two other botanists, David Jones and Mark Clements, changed its name to Genoplesium eriochilum. Then, in 2002, they changed it again to Corunastylis eriochila.

The second part of its scientific name, eriochilum, comes from two Ancient Greek words. Erion means "wool," and cheilos means "lip." This refers to the tiny hairs found on the edges of the flower's parts, especially the labellum.

Where Does This Orchid Live?

The Mount Wilson midge orchid is only found in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. You can find it growing in areas between Blackheath, Mount Wilson, and Mount Victoria. It likes to grow in heathlands, which are areas with low shrubs, grasses, and sedges.