Chiloglottis sylvestris, commonly known as the small wasp orchid, is a small, delicate species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It has two dark green leaves and a single greenish pink flower with a reddish black, insect-like callus surrounded by fine, radiating, red, club-shaped calli on two-thirds of the base of the labellum.
Chiloglottis sylvestris is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with two leaves NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. A single greenish pink flower NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 wide is borne on a flowering stem NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 high. The dorsal sepal is linear to spatula-shaped, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The lateral sepals are linear, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, about 0.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and curve downwards and away from each other. There is a glandular tip NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long on all three sepals. The petals are lance-shaped, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, about 2sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and turn downwards towards the ovary. The labellum is diamond-shaped, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 wide. There is a reddish black, insect-like callus covering about two-thirds of the middle of the base of the labellum. This large callus is surrounded by many fine, radiating, reddish, club-shaped calli and smaller red calli. The column has narrow wings. Flowering occurs from December to May.[1] [2] [3]
Chiloglottis sylvestris was first formally described in 1987 by David Jones and Mark Clements from a specimen collected near Springbrook and the description was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.[4] The specific epithet (sylvestris) is a Latin word meaning "of woods".[5]
The small wasp orchid grows in moist places in tall forest and rainforest between Eungella in Queensland and Robertson in New South Wales.