Mohawk spider orchid | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
Tribe: | Diurideae |
Genus: | Caladenia |
Species: | C. voigtii |
Binomial name | |
Caladenia voigtii | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Caladenia voigtii, commonly known as the mohawk orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and usually only one greenish-yellow and red flower. When discovered near Salmon Gums in 1977, it was thought to be the extinct Caladenia cristata , but when C. cristata was found near Miling, the Salmon Gums discovery was renamed C. voigtii.
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 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.
Salmon Gums is a small town in Western Australia located 106 km north of Esperance on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway. The name is derived from a prominent stretch of Eucalyptus salmonophloia trees which formed a landmark in the town's early days. The town is part of the Shire of Esperance. At the 2006 census, Salmon Gums had a population of 789.
Caladenia voigtii is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect leaf, 50–150 mm long and about 6 mm wide. Usually only one greenish-yellow flower with dark reddish markings and 20–30 mm long, 10–20 mm wide is borne on a stalk 80–200 mm high. The dorsal sepal is erect, 14–18 mm long and 2–3 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 14–18 mm wide, 3–4 mm long and turn stiffly downwards. The petals are 10–15 mm long, about 2 mm wide and spread horizontally or somewhat downwards. The labellum is 10–12 mm long, 8–12 mm wide, greenish with faint red lines and heart-shaped with a small, dark red, down-curved tip. There is a dense band of tall, red-tipped calli along the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to October. [2] [3] [4]
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.
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 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.
When discovered near Salmon Gums in 1977, it was thought to be Caladenia cristata which had been considered extinct since 1923, however when C. cristata was located near Miling, the present orchid was recognised as a new species. It was first formally described in 2001 by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Phillip Brown from the Salmon Gums specimen and the description was published in Nuytsia . [1] The specific epithet (voigtii) honours Don Voigt who found the first specimen. [3]
Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE is a Western Australian botanist, graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. He has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his name. He was Director of Kings Park in Perth for seven years, and CEO of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority for five. He is currently Foundation Professor of Plant Conservation Biology at The University of Western Australia. He was Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 2006 to 2012.
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.
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.
The mohawk spider orchid is found between Bremer Bay and Balladonia in the Coolgardie and Mallee biogeographic regions where it grows in a variety of habitats including on granite outcrops and near salt lakes. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Bremer Bay is a coastal town situated on the south coast of Western Australia in the Great Southern region between Albany and Esperance, at the mouth of the Bremer River. Bremer Bay is 515 kilometres (320 mi) southeast of the state capital, Perth, and 180 kilometres (112 mi) east of Albany. In 2016 the townsite had a population of 231. Over the 2018 Christmas and New Year holiday period the town's population reached almost 6,500.
Balladonia is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. It is the first stop east of Norseman on the long journey east across the Nullarbor Plain. Between Balladonia and Caiguna is a 146.6-kilometre (91.1 mi) stretch of the highway which is one of the longest straight stretches of road in the world.
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.
Caladenia voigtii is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [5]
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.
Caladenia paludosa, commonly known as the swamp 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 red, greenish-yellow and cream-coloured flowers. It mostly grows in dense scrub and is one of the last of the similar spider orchids to flower.
Caladenia cristata, commonly known as the crested clown orchid or crested 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 greenish-yellow and red flower on an unusually tall spike, considering the small size of the flower. Since its discovery in 1923 and collections made in 1923 it was thought to be extinct, until rediscovered in 1986.
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.
Caladenia exstans, commonly known as the pointing 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 one or two green, yellow and red flowers with a labellum which does not curl downwards but "points" forward.
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.
Caladenia georgei, commonly known as the tuart 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 whitish to yellowish-green flowers flushed with red and which have a white labellum with a red tip.
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 huegelii, commonly known as the grand 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 relatively large red, green and cream-coloured flowers which have "split-hairs" on the sides of the labellum.
Caladenia incrassata, commonly known as the puppet clown orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and usually only one greenish-yellow and red flower which has a red-striped labellum.
Caladenia pachychila, commonly known as the dwarf zebra 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 greenish-yellow and red flowers with a red-striped labellum which has a dense cluster of deep purple calli in its centre. It is similar to the zabra orchid but has smaller flowers and the lateral sepals do not clasp the ovary.
Caladenia procera, commonly known as the Carbunup king 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 four greenish-yellow and red flowers. It is one of the tallest and has amongst the largest flowers of the spider orchids.
Caladenia sigmoidea, commonly known as the sigmoid spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and usually only one red and cream-coloured flowers with an unusual S-shaped labellum.
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 thinicola, commonly known as the Scott River 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 four yellowish-green and red flowers with a fringe of long teeth on the sides of the labellum and thick brown, club-like glandular tips on the sepals.
Caladenia uliginosa subsp. uliginosa, commonly known as the dainty spider orchid, or darting 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 four greenish-cream flowers which have a forward-projecting labellum with a dark red tip.
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.
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.
Caladenia viridescens, commonly known as the Dunsborough 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 flowers with faint red or pink markings.
Caladenia williamsiae, commonly known as Judy's spider orchid, or Williams' spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare species with a single relatively large, erect, hairy leaf and one or two delicate, greenish-yellow and red flowers. It is only known from a single population near Brookton.
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.