Leptoceras menziesii
Hare or Rabbit Orchid
Slender erect perennial growing from round tubers, forming dense colonies. Stem green. Dies down in hot weather.
Additional information
- SynonymCaladenia menziesii
- FamilyOrchidaceae
- StoreyLower storey
- Size5-30 cm high
- Plant groupingOrchids
- LeavesSingle bright green egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaf 3-12 cm x 5-25 mm, limp or lying prostrate.
- Flower colourWhite with pink to dark red petals and central sepal
- Flowering timeAugust to November
- Flowers1-3 flowers to 15 mm wide, central sepal incurved, hooded over column; petals narrow, erect, tips clubbed, glandular hairy; sepals sickle-shaped. Lip has pink bars, 3-lobed, erect side lobes, 2-4 rows of stalked yellow warts to curved tip on mid-lobe.
- Bird attractingNo
- Butterfly attractingNo
- Frog habitatNo
- Growing conditionsMoist well drained soil in heathy woodland and open forests. Semi shade. Requires fire to flower well.
- Garden useUse of orchids in gardens is not recommended, unless they already occur naturally, in which case they need to be protected. Removing orchids from the bush usually results in their death and further depletes remaining wild orchid populations.
- Commercially availableNever
- Conservation statusLocally common within its preferred growing conditions
- Aboriginal Use Food - tuber
- Related speciesDiffers from the closely related Caladenias due to the hairless leaf and the erect petals which are twice as long as the sepals. Caladenias have a hairy leaf and shorter petals.
Photo Gallery
Photographer/s: 1 Ilma Dunn, © Royal Botanic Gardens Board; 2 Lorraine Phelan, NatureShare ©; 3 Richard Hartlands ©; 4 Cathy Powers ©
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