Eriochilus tenuis, commonly known as the slender bunny orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single egg-shaped leaf lying flat on the ground and one or two small pink or pink and white flowers. A common species, it grows in dense, shrubby forest and in winter-wet swamps.
Eriochilus tenuis is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single egg-shaped leaf NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide which lies flat on the ground. One or two pink or white flowers about 10sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and wide are borne on a stem, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 tall. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The lateral sepals are NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and spread apart. The petals are narrow spatula-shaped, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, about 1sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and held close to the dorsal sepal. The labellum is pink, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, about 3sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and has three lobes. The middle lobe is egg-shaped, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long and is fleshy with red bristles. Flowering occurs from September to November, more prolifically after fire the previous summer.[1] [2] [3]
Eriochilus tenuis was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley and the description was published in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4] The specific epithet (tenuis) is a Latin word meaning "thin",[5] referring to the thin form of this orchid.
The slender bunny orchid grows in winter-wet swamps and in moss beds on granite outcrops between Perth and Albany.
Eriochilus tenuis is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.