Caladenia xanthochila

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Yellow-lip 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. xanthochila
Binomial name
Caladenia xanthochila
Synonyms [1]

Arachnorchis xanthochila(D.Beardsell & C.Beardsell) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Contents

Caladenia xanthochila, commonly known as the yellow-lip spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a rare ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale greenish-yellow flower. Only a few plants are known from Victoria and South Australia.

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.

Australia Country in Oceania

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.

Description

Caladenia xanthochila is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single leaf, 80–170 mm (3–7 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. One, rarely two flowers 30–50 mm (1–2 in) wide are borne on a hairy spike 250–320 mm (9.8–13 in) high. The sepals have red, club-like glandular tips 3–9 mm (0.1–0.4 in). The dorsal sepal is erect, 30–50 mm (1–2 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide. The lateral sepals have similar dimensions to the dorsal sepal, spread apart from each other and curve downwards. The petals are 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long, about 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide and arranged like the lateral sepals. The labellum is greenish-yellow, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long, 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide with yellow or red, club-shaped teeth up to about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long on the sides but decreasing in length towards the tip. The tip of the labellum is curled under and there are four or six rows of calli up to 1 mm long, along its mid-line. Flowering occurs from August to September. [2] [3] [4]

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 xanthochila was first formally described by David and Cam Beardsell in 1992 and the description was published in Australian Systematic Botany from a specimen collected near Murtoa. [1] The specific epithet (xanthochila) is derived from the Ancient Greek words xanthos meaning "yellow" [5] :872 and cheilos meaning "lip". [5] :200

Australian Systematic Botany is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as biogeography, taxonomy and evolution. The journal is broad in scope, covering all plant, algal and fungal groups, including fossils.

Murtoa, Victoria Town in Victoria, Australia

Murtoa is a wheat district town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, 305 kilometres (190 mi) north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the 2016 census, Murtoa had a population of 865 and is located around 30 kilometres from Horsham, a major city in the Wimmera region.

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.

Distribution and habitat

Yellow-lip spider orchid grows in Eucalyptus leucoxylon woodland on sandy soil. It is only known from four sites near Bendigo and Dimboola in Victoria and one site in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, the latter site containing only two plants. [2] [4] [3]

<i>Eucalyptus leucoxylon</i> species of plant

Eucalyptus leucoxylon, commonly known as yellow gum, blue gum or white ironbark, is a species of eucalypt that is endemic to Australia. It is widely distributed on plains and nearby mountain ranges or coastal South Australia, where it is known as the Blue Gum and extends into the western half of Victoria where it is known as the yellow gum.

Bendigo City in Victoria, Australia

Bendigo is a city in Victoria, Australia, located near the geographical centre of the state and approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. As of June 2016, Bendigo had an urban population of 95,587, making it the fourth largest inland city in Australia and fourth most populous city in the state. It is the administrative centre for the City of Greater Bendigo which encompasses both the urban area and outlying towns spanning an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres and over 111,000 people.

Dimboola Town in Victoria, Australia

Dimboola is a town in the Shire of Hindmarsh in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia, 334 kilometres north-west of Melbourne.

Conservation

Caladenia xanthochila is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "endangered" under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. [4] [3] Effort are being made to increase the numbers of this orchid in the wild. [6]

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 aestiva, commonly known as summer spider orchid, 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 the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. It has one or two greenish-yellow to pale yellow flowers, often while the single, hairy leaf withers.

<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.

Caladenia corynephora, commonly known as the club-lipped 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 greenish-yellow and red flowers which have a labellum with a club-like tip. It is the only Western Australian caladenia with a clubbed labellum.

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.

Caladenia dienema, commonly known as the windswept spider-orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a ground orchid with a single, hairy leaf and a single, variably-coloured, usually dark red flower on a thin, wiry stem 5–12 cm (2–5 in) high.

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

Caladenia fulva, commonly known as the tawny spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to a small area in Victoria. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two creamy-white to pale yellow flowers. Only two small populations are known, although both are in nature reserves.

Caladenia helvina, commonly known as the summer spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and usually a single greenish-yellow to pale yellow flower with reddish teeth on the sides of the labellum and reddish calli along its mid-line.

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.

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

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 lindleyana, commonly known as the Lindley's spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two greenish-yellow flowers tinged with red and with thin dark tips on the sepals. Very few plants of this species survive with only one plant, which has not been seen since 1997, protected in a reserve.

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

Caladenia multiclavia, commonly known as the lazy 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 cream-coloured flowers resembling a reclining spider. Although it usually only has a single flower, it often grows in clumps of up to six plants.

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

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 pumila, commonly known as the dwarf spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a ground orchid with a single erect, hairy leaf and a single white flower with pale pink stripes. Its short flowering stem distinguishes it from other Victorian spider orchids. After 1933 it was presumed extinct until two plants were discovered in 2009.

Caladenia richardsiorum, commonly known as the little dip spider orchid, Richards' spider orchid or robe 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, hairy leaf and usually only one yellowish-green flower. It is similar to the endangered Mellblom's spider orchid but has a much larger leaf and the petals lack glandular tips.

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

Caladenia verrucosa, commonly known as the mallee spider orchid, 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 usually only one greenish-yellow and red flower.

<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.

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 woolcockiorum, commonly known as Woolcock's spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single, long, erect, hairy leaf and one or two cream-coloured to greenish-yellow flowers recognised by their long, drooping lateral sepals and petals with their ends having dark glandular tips and by the red-tipped labellum.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Caladenia xanthochila". APNI. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 78. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 3 Jeanes, Jeff. "Caladenia xanthochila". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Conservation advice Caladenia xanthochila - yellow-lip spider-orchid" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  6. Jones, Ann. "Rare, endangered and sexually deceptive orchids". Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Radio National. Retrieved 7 April 2017.