''Sarcochilus hirticalcar'', commonly known as the harlequin orchid, is a small epiphytic orchid endemic to Queensland. It has up to eight bright green leaves and up to twelve cream-coloured to bright yellow flowers with purplish to reddish brown bands.

Description

''Sarcochilus hirticalcar'' is a small epiphytic

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with stems long with between two and ten leathery, linear or curved bright green leaves long and wide. Between two and twelve cream-coloured to bright yellow flowers with purplish to reddish bands, long and wide are arranged on a flowering stem long. The dorsal sepal is long and wide and the lateral sepals are slightly longer. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are long and about wide. The labellum is long and wide and has three lobes. The side lobes are erect with purple stripes on the inside and the middle lobe is densely covered with white hairs. Flowering occurs between October and December but only up to three flowers are open at once.

Taxonomy and naming

The harlequin orchid was first formally described in 1967 by Alick Dockrill who gave it the name ''Parasarcochilus hirticalcar'' and published the description in ''Australasian Sarcanthinae''. In 1998 Mark Clements and

Benjamin John Wallace Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...

changed the name to ''Sarcochilus hirticalcar''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''hirticalcar'') is derived from the Latin words ''hirtus'' meaning "hairy", "rough" or "shaggy" and ''calcar'' meaning "a spur".

Distribution and habitat

''Sarcochilus hirticalcar'' grows on trees in rainforest and along rivers, often growing on ''

Dillenia alata ''Dillenia alata'', commonly known as red beech, golden guinea flower or golden guinea tree, is a tree in the Dilleniaceae family, found in tropical forests of the Moluccas, New Guinea, and northern Australia. Description ''Dillenia alata' ...

''. It is only known from the

McIlwraith Range The McIlwraith Range is a rugged, dissected granite plateau on Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range, the McIlwraith Range covers about and lies about east of the town of Coen, and nor ...

where it grows at altitudes of between .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarcochilus hirticalcar Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1967 hirticalar