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Calochilus praealtus, commonly known as the lofty beard orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It has a single pale green leaf and up to six pale green flowers with faint red stripes and a labellum with a dark purple beard. It is only known from two mountainous areas.
| Lofty beard orchid | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Calochilus |
| Species: | C. praealtus |
| Binomial name | |
| Calochilus praealtus | |
Calochilus praealtus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single pale green leaf 180–400 mm (7–20 in) long, 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide and fully developed at flowering time. The leaf has a powdery coating and a purplish red base. Between two and six pale green flowers with faint red stripes are borne on a flowering stem 280–500 mm (10–20 in) tall. Individual flowers last for between two and four days. The dorsal sepal is broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 12–14 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 8–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide. The lateral sepals are a similar length but only about half as wide and spread apart from each other. The petals are 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long, about 5 mm (0.2 in) wide, asymmetrically egg-shaped with a small upturned tip. The labellum is flat, 22–24 mm (0.87–0.94 in) long, about 7 mm (0.3 in) wide, with short, thick purple calli near its base. The central part of the labellum is covered with dark purple hairs up to 6 mm (0.2 in) long and there is a glandular tip which is 15–17 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The column has two yellowish "eyes" joined by a faint ridge. Flowering occurs from December to February but the flowers only last between two and four days.[2][3]
Calochilus praealtus was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones from a specimen collected in Mount Kaputar National Park and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[4] The specific epithet (praealtus) is a Latin word meaning "very high".[5]
Jones gave the species the name Calochilus praeltus, misspelling the Greek word and mentioning that its meaning is "high altitude, elevation; in reference to its occurrence at high altitudes". The misspelling has been copied by the Australian Plant Name Index.[2][3][4]
The lofty beard orchid grows with grasses in snow gum woodland. It is only known from Barrington Tops and the Mount Kaputar National Park.[2]
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