| Thin-clubbed mantis orchid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Caladenia atrovespa growing on Black Mountain in the A.C.T. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Caladenia |
| Species: | C. atrochila |
| Binomial name | |
| Caladenia atrochila | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
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Caladenia atrovespa, commonly known as the thin-clubbed mantis orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single hairy leaf. It is similar to Caladenia tentaculata but has smaller flowers, sepals with narrower glandular tips, straight lateral sepals and a narrower labellum. [2] The species was first formally described by David Jones who gave it the name Arachnorchis atrovespa in The Orchadian from a specimen collected on Black Mountain in the Australian Capital Territory. [3] In 2010, Gary Backhouse transferred the species to Caladenia as C. atrovespa. [4] The specific epithet (atrovespa) is derived from the Latin words atra meaning 'black' and vespa meaning 'wasp', referring to the large black thynnid that pollinates this orchid. [2]
This caladenia grows on slopes and ridges in drier forests in southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. [2]
