Caladenia thysanochila

Last updated

Peninsula 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. thysanochila
Binomial name
Caladenia thysanochila
Synonyms [1]

Arachnorchis thysanochila(G.W.Carr) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Contents

Caladenia thysanochila, commonly known as the peninsula spider orchid [2] or fringed spider-orchid, [3] 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 bright white to pale pinkish flower. Only two flowers have been seen and the species is thought to be extinct.

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.

Victoria (Australia) State in Australia

Victoria is a state in south-eastern Australia. Victoria is Australia's smallest mainland state and its second-most populous state overall, thus making it the most densely populated state overall. Most of its population lives concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Victoria is bordered by Bass Strait and Tasmania to the south, New South Wales to the north, the Tasman Sea to the east, and South Australia to the west.

Description

Caladenia thysanochila is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single hairy leaf, 100–200 mm long and 8–10 mm wide with reddish spots. A single flower 40–50 mm wide is borne on a thin spike 150–300 mm high. The sepals and petals are bright white to pinkish with thick, purplish, club-like glandular tips. The dorsal sepal is erect, 25–30 mm long and 3–4 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 25–30 mm long and 4–5 mm wide, spread apart from each other and curve downwards. The petals are 20–25 mm long, about 3 mm wide and curve downwards. The labellum is white or pinkish, 9–13 mm long, 6–8 mm wide with many pinkish teeth up to 1.5 mm long on the sides. The tip of the labellum is curled under and there are four rows of pinkish calli up to 1 mm long, along its mid-line. Flowering occurs in October. [2] [4] [3]

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.

Herbaceous plant Plant which has no persistent woody stem above ground

Herbaceous plants are plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground. The term is mainly applied to perennials, but in botany it may also refer to annuals or biennials, and include both forbs and graminoids.

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia thysanochila was first formally described by Geoffrey Carr in 1991 and the description was published in Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association Miscellaneous Paper 1 from a specimen collected near Mount Eliza. [1] The specific epithet (thysanochila) is derived from the Ancient Greek words thysanos meaning "tassel" or "fringe" [5] :158 and cheilos meaning "lip". [5] :200

Mount Eliza, Victoria Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mount Eliza is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. It is in the local government area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.

Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is Linnaeus' Species Plantarum of 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), which replaces the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). Fossil plants are also covered by the code of nomenclature.

Ancient Greek Version of the Greek language used from roughly the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE

The Ancient Greek language includes the forms of Greek used in Ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE. It is often roughly divided into the Archaic period, Classical period, and Hellenistic period. It is antedated in the second millennium BCE by Mycenaean Greek and succeeded by medieval Greek.

Distribution and habitat

The only two specimens of this orchid have been observed having been discovered in 1988. Both were growing in heathy woodland in a reserve on the Mornington Peninsula. [2] [3] [4]

Mornington Peninsula peninsula and region of Victoria, Australia

The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion from the mainland in the area between Pearcedale and an area south of Frankston. The area was originally home to the Mayone-bulluk and Boonwurrung-Balluk clans and formed part of the Boonwurrung nation's territory prior to European settlement.

Conservation

Caladenia thysanochila is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 but as "extinct"under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. [3] [4]

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 Act of the Parliament of Australia, currently registered as C2016C00777

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places. Enacted on 17 July 2000, it established a range of processes to help protect and promote the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities, and preserve significant places from decline. The EPBC Act replaced the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975.

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988

The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 is an act of the Victorian government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Australian state of Victoria for perpetuity. It was the first Australian legislation to deal with such issues.

Related Research Articles

Caladenia robinsonii, commonly known as the Frankston 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 one or two red and creamy-yellow flowers with dark red glandular tips on the sepals. In 2010 only about forty specimens of this plant, growing in a single population were known.

Caladenia brachyscapa is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is native to Victoria and possibly Clarke Island in Bass Strait. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a reddish-pink flower with thick, black, club-like swellings on the petals and sepals. Although formally described in 1988 living specimens have not been observed since 1979.

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

Caladenia cardiochila, commonly known as thick-lipped spider-orchid, fleshy-lipped caladenia and heartlip spider-orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria and South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two yellowish-green, red-striped flowers on a thin, wiry stem.

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

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.

<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 footeana</i> species of plant

Caladenia footeana, commonly known as the crimson spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two, relatively small pinkish-red flowers with a white, red-striped labellum. Its relatively small size makes it hard to find in its surroundings.

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

Caladenia gardneri, commonly known as the cherry 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 pale pink, sweetly scented flowers with a dark pinkish-red labellum.

Caladenia hastata, commonly known as Mellblom's 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 up to three white to cream-coloured flowers with red markings on the labellum.

Caladenia hoffmanii, commonly known as Hoffman's spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two, greenish-yellow, red and white flowers which have a greenish-yellow labellum with a red tip. It is distinguished from the Pingaring spider orchid by small differences in the labellum and more northerly distribution.

Caladenia interjacens, commonly known as the Walpole spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two pale pink and white flowers which lack the red tip on the labellum common to many other similar caladenias.

Caladenia longifimbriata, commonly known as the fringed spider orchid or green-comb spider orchid, is a rare species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two green, red and white flowers with a long labellum fringe and only occurs in a few scattered populations between Jerramungup and Esperance.

Caladenia pholcoidea subsp. augustensis, commonly known as the Augustus spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare orchid with a single hairy leaf and up to three mostly white flowers with long spreading petals and lateral sepals.

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

Caladenia septuosa, commonly known as the Koppio spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single erect, sparsely hairy leaf and usually only one greenish-cream flower with red stripes along the sepals and petals.

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

Caladenia speciosa, commonly known as the sandplain white 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 relatively large white flowers tinged with pink and with a fringe of long teeth on the sides of the labellum.

Caladenia startiorum, commonly known as Starts' 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 pink flowers with a fringe of long teeth on the sides of the labellum and pinkish to brown club-like glandular tips on the sepals.

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

Caladenia stricta, commonly known as the upright spider orchid or rigid-combed spider-orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale green flower with red lines along the sepals and petals.

<i>Caladenia uliginosa</i> subsp. <i>patulens</i> subspecies of plant

Caladenia uliginosa subsp. patulens, commonly known as the frail 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 greenish-cream flowers which have a forward-projecting, white labellum.

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

Caladenia valida, commonly known as the robust spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single sparsely hairy leaf and up to three white to cream-coloured flowers which sometimes have red streaks. It is similar to Caladenia reticulata but is large and taller with more stiffly spreading lateral sepals and petals.

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.

Caladenia sanguinea, commonly known as red spider orchid or crimson daddy long-legs, is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single sparsely hairy leaf and one or two dark red flowers with long, thin sepals and petals.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Caladenia thysanochila". APNI. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 77. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Conservation advice Caladenia thysanchila - fringed spider-orchid" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Jeanes, Jeff. "Caladenia thysanochila". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  5. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.