Wandoo beard orchid facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wandoo beard orchid
Calochilus stramenicola in Wandoo National Park
Scientific classification
Genus:	Calochilus
Species:	stramenicola

The Wandoo beard orchid, also known as Calochilus stramenicola, is a special type of orchid. It grows only in Western Australia, meaning it is endemic to that area. This orchid has a single smooth leaf that stands straight up. Its flowers are a dull greenish color with reddish-brown or purplish stripes. A cool feature is its "labellum" (which is like a lip), which has a purplish "beard" and a small ridge between two "eye" spots.

What Does the Wandoo Beard Orchid Look Like?

The Wandoo beard orchid is a plant that lives in the ground. It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years, and it's deciduous, so it loses its leaves at certain times. It grows from a hidden underground tuber (like a small potato).

Each orchid has one smooth, dark green leaf. This leaf is shaped like a line or a spear, and it's about 8 to 20 centimeters (3 to 8 inches) long and 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) wide. The leaf is fully grown when the first flower opens.

The orchid can have up to seven flowers on a stem that stands 12 to 42 centimeters (5 to 17 inches) tall. These flowers are a dull green with reddish-brown or purplish stripes.

Let's look at the parts of the flower:

• The top sepal (a leaf-like part that protects the flower bud) is 7 to 10 millimeters (0.3 to 0.4 inches) long and 6 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide.
• The two side sepals are about the same length but a bit narrower.
• The petals are smaller, about 4 to 5 millimeters (0.16 to 0.20 inches) long and 3 to 4 millimeters (0.12 to 0.16 inches) wide.
• The labellum (the orchid's special lip) is flat and measures 12 to 17 millimeters (0.5 to 0.7 inches) long and 6 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. Near its base, it has short, reddish-purple bumps called calli.
• The middle part of the labellum has thin hairs up to 3 millimeters (0.1 inches) long.
• The very tip of the labellum has a "tail" that is 2 to 3 millimeters (0.08 to 0.12 inches) long and about 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. This tail is "glandular," meaning it might produce a sticky substance.
• The column (the central part of the flower) has two dark "eyes" that are connected by a small ridge.

These orchids usually bloom in September and October.

How the Wandoo Beard Orchid Got Its Name

Calochilus stramenicola was officially named in 2006 by a botanist named David Jones. He published its description in a book called Australian Orchid Research.

The second part of its scientific name, stramenicola, comes from two Latin words:

• Stramen means "straw" or "litter" (like fallen leaves and twigs).
• The ending -cola means "dweller" or "one who lives in."

So, stramenicola means "dweller in litter," which makes sense because this orchid likes to grow in piles of natural plant material on the ground.

Where the Wandoo Beard Orchid Lives

The Wandoo beard orchid prefers to grow in thick layers of fallen leaves and other plant material found in wandoo woodland. Wandoo is a type of eucalyptus tree.

You can find this orchid in a narrow area of Western Australia. This area stretches between the towns of Narrogin and Wannamal. It grows across several natural regions, including the Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest, and Swan Coastal Plain.