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Alexander Dudley | all galleries >> Galleries >> Australian Flora > Spider orchid, Cryptostylis leptochila
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27/1/2004 İAlexander Dudley 2004

Spider orchid, Cryptostylis leptochila

Blue Mountains NSW Australia

It is an orchid that looks like a spider, not very convincingly in my opinion, as it only has five legs. I am unsure what calling such things "spider orchids" says about botanists.

Thanks to Leonard Mueller for identifying this species for me.


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Tony 27-Dec-2008 00:38
I'm not sure where the "spider" bit comes from. Cryptostylis leptochila is commonly called "Small-tongue orchid" (don't ask me why). It uses appearance and scent to imitate a female ichneumon wasp to achieve pollination by the male wasp...