Green caterpillar orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Green caterpillar orchid |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Phreatia
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| Species: |
crassiuscula
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| Synonyms | |
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The green caterpillar orchid (scientific name: Phreatia crassiuscula) is a special plant from the orchid family. It's known as an epiphyte because it grows on other plants, or a lithophyte because it can grow on rocks. This orchid has three to six thick, fleshy leaves that are arranged like a fan. It produces many tiny white, cream, or greenish flowers on a curved stem. You can only find this unique orchid in tropical North Queensland, Australia.
About the Green Caterpillar Orchid
What it Looks Like
The green caterpillar orchid is a type of herb that grows on trees or rocks. It has a short stem and thin roots. Its leaves are dark green, thick, and fleshy, with deep channels. There are usually three to six leaves, and they grow in a fan shape. Each leaf is about 40 to 60 millimeters (about 1.5 to 2.5 inches) long and 10 millimeters (about 0.4 inches) wide.
This orchid produces many small flowers, usually between twenty and sixty of them. The flowers are white, cream-coloured, or greenish. Each flower is tiny, only about 1.5 to 2 millimeters (about 0.06 to 0.08 inches) long and wide. They grow along a flowering stem that is about 15 to 35 millimeters (about 0.6 to 1.4 inches) long. This stem first grows straight up, then curves downwards. The parts of the flower called sepals and petals are very small, about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) long, and they spread out widely. The labellum, which is a special lip-like petal, is about 0.7 millimeters (0.03 inches) long and wide and shaped like a dish. You can usually see these orchids flowering between January and April.
How it Got its Name
The green caterpillar orchid was officially described in 1945 by a person named William Henry Nicholls. He wrote about it in a science magazine called The Victorian Naturalist. The first plant he described was found on Mount Bartle Frere by Alf Glindeman.
Nicholls noticed that other scientists, like Ferdinand von Mueller, had also seen this plant before. Mueller had even given it an earlier name, Oberonia crassiuscula. Nicholls kept the part of the name crassiuscula because it means "somewhat thick" or "fleshy." He thought this was a perfect name because the orchid's thick, fleshy leaves reminded him of another plant called Crassula.
Where it Lives
The green caterpillar orchid mostly grows on mossy trees in rainforests. You can find it in the area between Cedar Bay National Park and Paluma Range National Park in tropical North Queensland.
