Calochilus robertsonii (Purple Beard Orchid)

Calochilus robertsonii. Found in Georges River Gorge near Campbelltown

Photograph by Doug from Australia. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Bearded Orchid, probably Calochilus robertsonii, on Hawkesbury Sandstone, at West Pymble, Australia

Photograph by Poyt448 Peter Woodard. License: Public Domain. (view image details)

PURPLE BEARD ORCHID FACTS

distribution map showing range of Calochilus robertsonii in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Purple Beard Orchid

Description
Note: check if this is same species as Calochilus platychilus. Calochilus robertsonii is a purple flowering bearded orchid. The labellum or lip has long purple hairs and dark purple warts at the base. It produces clusters of up to ten flowers with flowering period in spring from October to November. The petals and sepals have purple red striped veins along their length. The plant has a single long fleshy green leaf to 30cm in length. the plant grows from an underground tuber. The flower stem is reddish near the base and greener higher up. This species is similar to the Red Beard Orchid (Calochilus paludosus) but is more purple in colour, with more reddish colour on the lateral sepals.

Habitat
Calochilus robertsonii grows in a variety of habitats including woodland, heathland, scrubland.

Distribution
Purple Beard Orchid is found in eastern New South Wales, Victoria, south eastern parts of South Australia and Tasmania. It is also found in New Zealand.

Growth Characteristics
Height: 30cm - 45cm

Classification

Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Genus:	Calochilus
Species:	robertsonii
Common Name:	Purple Beard Orchid

Relatives in same Genus
Calochilus paludosus
Calochilus platychilus