Summer fingers | |
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Caladenia vulgaris growing near Belgrave | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
Tribe: | Diurideae |
Genus: | Caladenia |
Species: | C. vulgaris |
Binomial name | |
Caladenia vulgaris | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Petalochilus vulgaris(D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. Contents |
Caladenia vulgaris, commonly known as summer fingers, [2] or slender pink-fingers [3] is a species of orchid endemic to southern Australia. It has a single, long, erect, hairy leaf and one or two pink or whitish flowers.
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.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Caladenia vulgaris is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and which usually grows as solitary plants. It has a single hairy, dark green leaf, 150–270 mm long, 2–3 mm wide which is red near its base. One or two dull pinkish to white flowers about 12 mm wide are borne on a stalk 150–360 mm tall. The backs of the flowers are densely hairy and pinkish with brown bands. The dorsal sepal is 10–15 mm long, 2–4 mm wide and curves forward over the column. The lateral sepals are 10–18 mm long, 3–6 mm wide, slightly curved and fused at their bases. The petals are 10–17 mm long, 3–5 mm wide and spread widely. The labellum is 5–7 mm long and 5–8 mm wide, white or pink with narrow red bars and a yellow tip. The lateral lobes of the labellum are erect and surround the column while the central part has eight to ten short teeth on the sides. The tip of the labellum is curves slightly downwards and there are two rows of yellow to orange stalked calli along the mid-line. Flowering occurs from October to January but some flowers are self-pollinating and do not fully open. [2] [4] [3] [5]
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.
Caladenia vulgaris was first described in 1998 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Glencoe and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. [1] The specific epithet (vulgaris) is a Latin word meaning "common" or "commonplace". [2] [6]
David Lloyd Jones is an Australian horticultural botanist and the author of a large number of books and papers, especially on Australian orchids.
Glencoe is a regional town in South Australia, Australia located approximately 25 km north-west of Mount Gambier. At June 2016, Glencoe had an estimated population of 661.
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.
Summer fingers occurs in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. In Victoria and South Australia it grows in moist heath and in Tasmania it also grows in moist forest and rainforest. [2] [4] [7]
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.
South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres (379,725 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population. It has a total of 1.7 million people, and its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital, Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second largest centre, has a population of 28,684.
Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 km (150 mi) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated by Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 334 islands. The state has a population of around 526,700 as of March 2018. Just over forty percent of the population resides in the Greater Hobart precinct, which forms the metropolitan area of the state capital and largest city, Hobart.
Caladenia tonellii, commonly known as robust fingers, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single, long, erect, hairy leaf and up to three bright pink flowers with brownish backs. It is a rare orchid which exists in low numbers.
Caladenia carnea, commonly known as pink fingers, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It has a single thin, green leaf and one to five white or pink flowers with red stripes and two rows of yellow-tipped "calli" on their labellum.
Caladenia angustata, commonly known as white caps is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two white to pinkish flowers which are reddish or greenish on their backs. It has not been accepted as a separate species by some authorities who regard it as a synonym of Caladenia gracilis.
Caladenia latifolia, commonly known as pink fairies is a species of orchid endemic to Australia and is common and widespread in the southern half of the continent and in Tasmania. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to four pink flowers. It is easily distinguished by its relatively large, green leaf, and pink flowers on an unusually tall spike.
Caladenia atrata, commonly known as dark caladenia is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a ground orchid with flowers that are bright white on the front, but densely covered with black glands on the back.
Caladenia atrochila is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and flowers that are whitish or pinkish on the front, but yellowish-green on the back and a cream-coloured labellum with dark red markings.
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.
Caladenia campbellii, commonly known as thickstem fairy fingers or thick-stem caladenia, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a ground orchid with a single, sparsely hairy leaf and one or two flowers that are pinkish on the outside and cream-coloured on the inside. The flowers are self-pollinating and short-lived.
Caladenia clarkiae, commonly known as pink caps, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid which grows singly or in small groups in Victoria and New South Wales. It has a single leaf and usually one or two white to pale pink flowers with darker pink tips.
Caladenia coactilis, commonly known as thick fingers, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid which grows singly or in loose groups and has a single hairy leaf and one or two flowers which are bright pink inside and brownish on the back.
Caladenia curtisepala, commonly known as short-hooded fingers, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf, and a single white to cream-coloured flower with a white labellum with red bands.
Caladenia flaccida, commonly known as the flaccid spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and up to three cream-coloured, pinkish or red flowers with long, thread-like, glandular tips on the sepals and petals.
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 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 mentiens, commonly known as lesser fingers, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia which grows singly, or in small, loose groups. It has a single, sparsely hairy, erect, linear leaf and a single whitish or pinkish coloured flower with a darker back and a cream-coloured labellum.
Caladenia prolata, commonly known as long-leaf fingers or white fingers is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two dull white flowers which are greenish with red stripes on the back.
Caladenia pusilla, commonly known as tiny fingers, pygmy caladenia, tiny caladenia or pink fingers, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is native to Australia and New Zealand. It is a ground orchid with a single erect, sparsely hairy leaf and a single pink flower with a brownish-pink back. The flowers are short-lived and self-pollinating.
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.
Caladenia sylvicola, commonly known as forest fingers, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single erect, sparsely hairy leaf and a single white flower with a greenish back.
Caladenia transitoria, commonly known as green caps, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single, long, erect, hairy leaf and one or two greenish-yellow flowers with purplish backs.