Caladenia saxatilis

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Rancid spider orchid
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. saxatilis
Binomial name
Caladenia saxatilis
Synonyms [1]

Arachnorchis saxatilis D.L.Jones

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.

Contents

Description

Caladenia saxatilis is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single, bright green, narrow lance-shaped leaf, 100–150 mm (4–6 in) long and 5–14 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide with red blotches near its base. The leaf and the flowering stem are densely covered with erect transparent hairs up to 3 mm (0.1 in) long. One or two pale creamy-green flowers 45–55 mm (1.8–2.2 in) wide are borne on a wiry flowering stem 200–350 mm (8–10 in) tall. The dorsal sepal is 35–40 mm (1–2 in) long, 2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.12 in) wide, oblong to elliptic near the base then tapers to a glandular tip 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long. The lateral sepals are lance-shaped near their bases, 35–40 mm (1–2 in) long, 3.5–5 mm (0.14–0.20 in) wide and taper to narrow glandular tips slightly shorter than that on the dorsal sepal. The petals are 27–33 mm (1.1–1.3 in) long, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide, lance-shaped near the base then taper to a thin, sometimes glandular tip. The labellum is lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long, 8–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide and has seven to ten pairs of linear teeth up to 1 mm (0.04 in) long on the edges. The tip of the labellum curls downward and there are four or six rows of dark red, mostly stalked calli along the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs in August and September. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia saxatilis was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones, who gave it the name Arachnorchis saxatilis and published the description in Australian Orchid Research from a specimen collected on the eastern side of the Mount Remarkable National Park. [3] In 2010, Robert Bates changed the name to Caladenia saxatilis. [1] [4] The specific epithet (saxatilis) is a Latin word meaning "among rocks", [5] referring to the rocky habitat where this species usually grows. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This spider orchid occurs in the Flinders Ranges, Northern Lofty, Murray and Yorke Peninsula botanical regions of South Australia where it grows among rocks in tall forest. [2] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

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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.

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

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.

<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 cretacea</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia cretacea, commonly known as Stuart Mill 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 leaf and one or two white flowers on a hairy stalk.

Caladenia leptochila subsp. dentata, commonly known as the toothed spider orchid, narrow-lipped spider-orchid or narrow-lipped caladenia, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It has a single leaf and one or two mostly reddish-brown flowers. It differs from subspecies leptochila in the colour of its flowers, toothed edges to its labellum, and its distribution.

Caladenia oreophila is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and a single greenish-cream flower with pale red stripes a red labellum with a greenish-cream base.

Caladenia osmera is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two greenish-cream flowers with pink stripes and which has a sharp odour resembling burnt plastic.

Caladenia peisleyi is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and a single greenish-yellow flower with pale red stripes. It is difficult to distinguish from several other Caladenia species.

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.

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 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 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.

<i>Caladenia orestes</i> Species of plant

Caladenia orestes is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to an area in the south of New South Wales. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two cream-coloured to light reddish flowers. It grows in forest on hillsides around Burrinjuck.

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 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. 1 2 3 "Caladenia saxatilis". APNI. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 5: 63–64.
  3. "Arachnorchis saxatilis". APNI. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. Bates, Robert John (2008). "New combinations in Pterostylis and Caladenia and other name changes in the Orchidaceae of South Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 22: 102. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 682.
  6. "Census of South Australian Plants - Caladenia". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  7. "Flora of South Australia - Introduction" (PDF). State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2017.