Caladenia armata

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Caladenia armata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. armata
Binomial name
Caladenia armata
Synonyms [1]

Arachnorchis armata D.L.Jones

Caladenia armata is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the Australian Capital Territory. It has a single dull green leaf with purple blotches near the base, and a single cream-coloured to pink flower with red to maroon markings. It is only known from a single population containing fewer than ten plants.

Contents

Description

Caladenia armata is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and which grows in small groups. It has a single dull green leaf with purple blotches near the base. The leaf is 60–90 mm (2–4 in) long, 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide and is densely covered with hairs up to 6 mm (0.2 in) long. A single flower 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) wide is borne on a wiry, hairy, reddish flowering stem 150–250 mm (6–10 in) tall. The flower is cream-coloured to pink, with red lines. The dorsal sepal is 23–35 mm (0.9–1 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and tapers to a thick glandular tip 3–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long. The lateral sepals are a similar to the dorsal sepal but almost twice as wide. The petals are 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide. The labellum is lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 8–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide and dark red to maroon or green with a maroon tip. The labellum curves forward and there are five to twelve pairs of linear, dark purplish-red teeth on its sides. The mid-line of the labellum has four rows of calli, the longest of which are 1.5 mm (0.06 in) and shaped like hockey sticks. Flowering occurs in October. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia armata was first formally described in 2006 by David L. Jones who gave it the name Arachnorchis armata and published the description in Australian Orchid Research from a specimen collected on the Majura Field Firing Range. [3] In 2010, Gary Backhouse changed the name to Caladenia armata. [4] The specific epithet (armata) is a Latin word meaning "furnish[ed] with weapons", [5] referring to the type location. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This spider orchid is only known from ten individual plants growing in the Majura Field Firing Range in open forest of red stringbark ( Eucalyptus macrorhyncha ) and white gum ( Eucalyptus rossii . [2]

Related Research Articles

Caladenia aestiva, commonly known as summer spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid which grows singly or in small groups in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. It has one or two greenish-yellow to pale yellow flowers, often while the single, hairy leaf withers.

Caladenia amoena, commonly known as the charming spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae, and is endemic to Victoria. It is a ground orchid which grows singly or in small groups, has a single dark green, hairy leaf and a single yellowish-green flower with red stripes. It is only known from a few sites and has been classified as Endangered.

<i>Caladenia ampla</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia ampla, commonly known as the dainty spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single flower which is sometimes yellowish-green flower with red stripes and sometimes entirely red.

Caladenia ancylosa, commonly known as the Genoa spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with red markings.

Caladenia atroclavia, commonly known as the black-clubbed spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Queensland. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a pale greenish-cream coloured flower with dark purple clubs and red patches on the petals.

<i>Caladenia clavescens</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia clavescens is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to central Victoria in Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and usually a single dark red to maroon flower.

Caladenia cremna, commonly known as Don's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to a small area in Victoria. It is a rare ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single yellow flower with red striations.

<i>Caladenia actensis</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia actensis, commonly known as the Canberra spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the Australian Capital Territory. It has a single leaf and usually only one greenish flower with red markings and only occurs in three small populations.

Caladenia branwhitei, commonly known as the Bethungra spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern New South Wales. It has a single dull green leaf and one or two, usually dark red to maroon-coloured flowers. It is only known from three areas near Bethungra where it grows in ironbark forest.

Caladenia cadyi is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south coast of New South Wales. It has a single dull green leaf with purple blotches near the base, and a single greenish cream to cream flower with pink to reddish markings. It was only known from a single population which has been bulldozed and replaced with a pine plantation so that it is now probably extinct.

Caladenia douglasiorum is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to central Victoria in Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single greenish-cream to yellowish flower with red marks.

Caladenia ensigera is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two greenish cream to whitish green flowers and is only known from Alligator Gorge in the Mount Remarkable National Park.

Caladenia saxatilis is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two pale creamy-green flowers, sometimes with thin reddish lines. It occurs in the southern Flinders Ranges.

Caladenia whiteheadii is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single pale yellow flower with thick reddish tips on the sepals and petals. It is only known from a single hill near Eugowra.

Caladenia flindersica is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two cream-coloured flowers with thin dark red to blackish tips on the petals and sepals. It is only known from Alligator Gorge in the Mount Remarkable National Park.

Caladenia interanea, commonly known as the inland spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single green flower with dark red stripes.

Caladenia strigosa is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and a single greenish-cream flower with fine reddish streaks. It grows in sandy soil in shrubland.

Caladenia zephyra is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single, densely hairy leaf and a single cream-coloured to very pale yellow flower with blackish glandular hairs on the sepals and petals. It occurs on the Eyre Peninsula but may have a wider distribution.

Caladenia fuliginosa is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single relatively large, creamy-yellow flower, sometimes with reddish lines. The flowers have a smell resembling hot metal.

Caladenia intuta is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to two small areas on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two white flowers which sometimes have faint reddish lines.

References

  1. "Caladenia armata". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 5: 52.
  3. "Arachnorchis armata". APNI. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. "Caladenia armata". APNI. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 806.