Carousel spider orchid | |
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Caladenia arenicola growing in Kings Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
Tribe: | Diurideae |
Genus: | Caladenia |
Species: | C. arenicola |
Binomial name | |
Caladenia arenicola Hopper & A.P.Br. | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Caladenia arenicola, commonly known as the carousel spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three red, white and green flowers on a flowering stem up to 60 cm (20 in) high. It is a common species on the Swan Coastal Plain, where it grows in sandy soil under trees.
The Orchidaceae are a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family.
Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.
Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.
Caladenia arenicola is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, hairy leaf 15–25 cm (6–10 in) long and 5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) wide. The inflorescence is a raceme, 30–60 cm (10–20 in) high with up to three flowers, each flower 8–10 cm (3–4 in) long and 6–8 cm (2–3 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is erect and the lateral sepals and petal spreads widely and have narrow scent-producing glands on their ends. The labellum is more than 11 mm (0.4 in) wide with long calli along its edges and calli along its centre in four or more roughly parallel rows. Flowering occurs between late August and October and is followed by a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule containing a large number of seeds. [2] [3] [4]
A terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in, or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic, epiphytic and lithophytic.
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit.
Caladenia arenicola was first formally described by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown in 2001 from a specimen collected near Wanneroo. The description was published in Nuytsia. [1] The specific epithet (arenicola) is derived from the Latin words arena meaning "sand", [5] :678 and -cola meaning "dweller" [5] :217 referring to the sandy habitat of this orchid. [2]
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE is a Western Australian botanist, graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. He has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his name. He was Director of Kings Park in Perth for seven years, and CEO of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority for five. He is currently Foundation Professor of Plant Conservation Biology at The University of Western Australia. He was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 2006 to 2012.
Andrew Phillip Brown is a conservation biologist and taxonomist at the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation. He is also curator of Orchidaceae and Myoporaceae at the Western Australian Herbarium and a foundation member of the Australian Orchid Foundation and the Western Australia Native Orchid Study and Conservation Group. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles and seven books on the flora of Western Australia including a field guide to the eremophilas of that state.
Wanneroo is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Wanneroo.
Carousel spider orchid occurs between Lancelin and Yarloop in the Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions [6] where it grows in sandy soil in Allocasuarina , Eucalyptus or Banksia woodland. [2] [3]
Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town 127 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is within the Shire of Gingin at the end of Wanneroo Road, and a few kilometres from the start of the Indian Ocean Drive.
Yarloop is a town in the South West of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Waroona and Harvey. At the 2006 census, Yarloop had a population of 545. On 7 January 2016 a bushfire destroyed most of the town.
Jarrah Forest is an interim Australian bioregion located in Western Australia. The Jarrah Forest comprises reserves across the south-west corner of WA and is managed for uses including recreation. There are many small areas of parkland while larger protected areas include the Dryandra Woodland, Lane-Poole Reserve, and the Perup Forest Ecology Centre. Also managed for land uses such as water, timber and mineral production, recreation and conservation, the forest is recognised globally as a significant hotspot of plant biodiversity and endemism.
Caladenia arenicola is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [6]
The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 and implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. The minister responsible for the department was the Minister for the Environment.
Caladenia longicauda subspecies borealis, commonly known as daddy-long-legs spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and up to three mostly white flowers with long, drooping sepals and petals.
Caladenia abbreviata, commonly known as the coastal spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three pale, creamy-yellow flowers on a flowering stem up to 35 cm (10 in) high. Although the flowers have long, thread-like petals and sepals, they are shorter and darker than those of other spider orchids. It is a rare, relatively recently discovered species although often found near human activities.
Caladenia arrecta, commonly known as the reaching spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three red, yellow and green flowers on a flowering stem up to 35 cm (10 in) high. It is distinguished from the similar C. longiclavata and C. magniclavata by its upswept petals and distinctive calli. Although not common, it is widespread in south-eastern coastal areas.
Caladenia brevisura, commonly known as the short-sepalled spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a common, small-flowered orchid with an erect, hairy leaf and a single greenish flower with red markings, on a flowering stem up to 25 cm (10 in) high. It is found between Ravensthorpe and Israelite Bay.
Caladenia brownii, commonly known as the karri spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has an erect, hairy leaf and up to three flowers which are a combination of red, green, white and yellow. It is found in the high rainfall forests and coastal heath of the far south-west corner of Western Australia and is the only caladenia to grow in karri forest.
Caladenia busselliana, commonly known as Bussell's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare orchid with an erect, hairy leaf and up to three pale yellow flowers. Only about fifty specimens are known and it is threatened by habitat destruction and by too-frequent or too infrequent bushfires.
Caladenia chapmanii, commonly known as Chapman's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three flowers which are either maroon, yellow or cream-coloured.
Caladenia christineae, commonly known as Christine's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to four small, white to cream-coloured flowers. It is distinguished from similar spider orchids by its small, odourless flowers with their stiffly held sepals and petals.
Caladenia citrina, commonly known as the Margaret River spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three lemon-yellow flowers. It has a narrow distribution in the far south-west corner of Western Australia.
Caladenia corynephora, commonly known as the club-lipped spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two greenish-yellow and red flowers which have a labellum with a club-like tip. It is the only Western Australian caladenia with a clubbed labellum.
Caladenia cruscula, commonly known as the reclining spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with a long red fringe on the sides of its labellum.
Caladenia denticulata subsp. denticulata, commonly known as the yellow spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two yellowish flowers which have a white labellum with pale red markings.
Caladenia denticulata subsp. albicans, commonly known as the alabaster spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two pale creamy-white flowers which have a white labellum with red markings. The only known population occurs in a small area near Arrowsmith.
Caladenia denticulata subsp. rubella, commonly known as the clumped spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two dull or pinkish red flowers with prominent dull red markings and with a white labellum with red markings.
Caladenia excelsa, commonly known as the giant spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare species with a single, hairy leaf and up to three cream-coloured to greenish-cream flowers with long, drooping sepals and petals. It is one of the tallest spider orchids in Western Australia and, with Caladenia splendens, has the largest flowers of any Western Australian orchid.
Caladenia georgei, commonly known as the tuart spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to three whitish to yellowish-green flowers flushed with red and which have a white labellum with a red tip.
Caladenia heberleana, commonly known as Heberle's spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to three red, white and pale yellow flowers which have a white, red-tipped labellum.
Caladenia huegelii, commonly known as the grand spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to three relatively large red, green and cream-coloured flowers which have "split-hairs" on the sides of the labellum.
Caladenia pendens subsp. pendens, commonly known as the pendant spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and up to three relatively large, creamy-white flowers with long drooping petals and sepals and sometimes has a sickly-sweet scent.
Caladenia xantha, commonly known as the primrose spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three yellow flowers with a cream-coloured, brown-striped labellum.