Caladenia saxicola

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Banded ironstone spider orchid
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. saxicola
Binomial name
Caladenia saxicola

Caladenia saxicola, commonly known as the banded ironstone 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 creamy-white to pale yellow flowers with spreading lateral sepals and petals.

Orchidaceae family of plants

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 ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

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 state in Australia

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.

Contents

Description

Caladenia saxicola is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It is sometimes found as a solitary plant or otherwise in small clumps. It has a single pale green, erect, hairy leaf 60–110 mm (2–4 in) long, 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. One or two flowers 90–150 mm (4–6 in) long and 80–140 mm (3–6 in) wide are borne on a spike 17–35 mm (0.7–1 in) tall. The flowers are dull creamy-white to pale yellow with dark red lines and blotches. The dorsal sepal is erect, 60–80 mm (2–3 in) long, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide and curves slightly forwards. The sepals and petals are linear to lance-shaped near their base, then suddenly narrow to a purplish-black, thread-like tip covered with glandular hairs. The lateral sepals are 70–90 mm (3–4 in) long, 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide and spread widely but curving downwards. The petals are 40–80 mm (2–3 in) long, 1–4 mm (0.04–0.2 in) wide and spread widely, usually curving gently upwards. The labellum is creamy yellow with red stripes, 14–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long, 6–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide with serrations on the sides. The tip of the labellum curves downwards and there are two rows of anvil-shaped calli up to 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long along its centre. Flowering occurs from late July to early September. [1] [2] [3]

Terrestrial plant

A terrestrial plant is a plant that grows on, in, or from land. Other types of plants are aquatic, epiphytic and lithophytic.

Perennial plant Plant that lives for more than two years

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.

Deciduous trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally

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.

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia saxicola was first formally described by Andrew Brown and Garry Brockman in 2007 from a specimen collected near Coolgardie. The description was published in Nuytsia. [4] The specific epithet (saxicola) is derived from the Latin word saxum meaning "rock" [5] :757 and the suffix -cola meaning "dweller in" [5] :48 referring to the rocky habitat where this species grows. [1] [3]

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.

Coolgardie, Western Australia Town in Western Australia

Coolgardie is a small town in Western Australia, 558 kilometres (347 mi) east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 850 people.

Nuytsia is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Western Australian Herbarium. It publishes papers on systematic botany, giving preference to papers related to the flora of Western Australia. Nearly twenty percent of Western Australia's plant taxa have been published in Nuytsia. The journal was established in 1970 and has appeared irregularly since. The editor-in-chief is Kevin Thiele.

Distribution and habitat

The banded ironstone spider orchid is found between Canna and Diemals in the Coolgardie and Yalgoo biogeographic regions where it mostly grows in seasonally moist soils on banded ironstone hills. [3] [6]

Canna, Western Australia Town in Western Australia

Canna is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is located between the towns of Morawa and Mullewa on the Mullewa-Wubin Road. At the 2006 census, Canna had a population of 81.

Coolgardie (biogeographic region) Ecoregion (WWF)

Coolgardie is an Australian bioregion and a World Wildlife Fund ecoregion consisting of an area of low hills and plains of infertile sandy soil in Western Australia.

Yalgoo (biogeographic region) biogeographic region in Western Australia

Yalgoo is an interim Australia bioregion located in Western Australia, comprising 5,087,577 hectares.

Conservation

Caladenia saxicola is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [6]

Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia) department of the Government of Western Australia

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.

Related Research Articles

<i>Caladenia longicauda</i> subsp. <i>borealis</i> subspecies of plant

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.

<i>Caladenia dimidia</i> species of plant

Caladenia dimidia, commonly known as the chameleon orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and one or two yellow, cream-coloured or pinkish flowers. It is a variable species, similar to the Joseph's spider orchid but has a more northerly distribution and smaller flowers.

Caladenia ambusta, commonly known as the Boranup 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, linear leaf and a single creamy-coloured flower on a stem 27–35 cm (11–14 in) high. It is only known from a relatively small area south-west of Margaret River growing in deep sand in shrubland and woodland and only flowering profusely after fire.

<i>Caladenia cruscula</i> species of plant

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.

<i>Caladenia denticulata</i> subsp. <i>denticulata</i> subspecies of plant

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 erythronema, commonly known as the red thread spider orchid, and Nyabing 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 red, yellow or cream-coloured flowers with dangling, thread-like sepals and petals and a small labellum.

Caladenia fluvialis, commonly known as the Brookton Highway spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a recently discovered orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two cream-yellow flowers with red markings on the labellum.

Caladenia hopperiana is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single leaf and up to four creamy-yellow flowers with faint red markings.

<i>Caladenia attingens</i> subsp. <i>gracillima</i> subspecies of plant

Caladenia attingens subsp. gracillima, commonly known as the small mantis orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a relatively common orchid with a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two green, yellow and red flowers. It differs from subspecies attingens in having smaller flowers and a more easterly distribution.

<i>Caladenia longicauda</i> subsp. <i>rigidula</i> subspecies of plant

Caladenia longicauda subsp. rigidula, commonly known as the rigid white spider orchid or island white 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 large, mainly white flowers with relatively short lateral sepals and petals. It is similar to the reclining white spider orchid but that species has smaller, cream-coloured flowers.

Caladenia paradoxa, commonly known as the ironcaps 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 small creamy-white flowers. It was previously thought to be the same species as the eastern Australian Caladenia flaccida but is now recognised as distinct.

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.

<i>Caladenia pendens</i> subsp. <i>talbotii</i> subspecies of plant

Caladenia pendens subsp. talbotii, commonly known as Talbot'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 hairy leaf and one or two white, red and yellow flowers with long drooping petals and sepals and sometimes has a citrus-like scent.

Caladenia perangusta, commonly known as the Boyup Brook spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare spider orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two cream-yellow or red flowers with narrow, drooping sepals and petals.

Caladenia pluvialis, commonly known as the Yuna spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a common spider orchid, especially after winter rains, occurring in a restricted area. It has a single hairy leaf and one or two creamy-coloured flowers. It was formerly included with Caladenia incensa.

Caladenia petrensis, commonly known as the rock 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 yellow flowers with drooping lateral sepals and petals.

<i>Caladenia straminichila</i> species of plant

Caladenia straminichila, commonly known as the Tenterden yellow spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two pale yellow flowers which have a red-striped labellum with short teeth on its sides.

<i>Caladenia swartsiorum</i> species of plant

Caladenia swartsiorum, commonly known as the Island Point 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 pale greenish-yellow and white flowers and is only known from a small area near the Harvey Estuary.

Caladenia validinervia, commonly known as the Lake Muir 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 greenish to creamy white flowers with red stripes on the sepals and petals. The flowers have relatively narrow sepals and petals and a relatively small labellum. It is a rare orchid only known from an area between Rocky Gully and Collie.

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 71. ISBN   9780980296457.
  2. Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 66. ISBN   9780646562322.
  3. 1 2 3 Brown, Andrew Phillip; Brockman, Gary (2007). "Caladenia petrensis and C. saxicola (Orchidaceae), two new ironstone endemics from south-west Western Australia". Nuytsia. 17: 77–78.
  4. "Caladenia saxicola". APNI. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  5. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  6. 1 2 "Caladenia saxicola". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.