Caladenia xantholeuca

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Flinders fingers
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. xantholeuca
Binomial name
Caladenia xantholeuca
Synonyms [1]

Petalochilus xantholeucus(D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Contents

Caladenia xantholeuca, commonly known as Flinders fingers, is a species of orchid endemic to South Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to four white flowers with green backs. There are two populations which are isolated from each other and may prove, with further research to be separate species.

Description

Caladenia xantholeuca is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single hairy, bright green leaf, 150–240 mm long and 5–7 mm wide. Up to four white flowers with green backs and 17–24 mm long and 20-30 wide are borne on a stalk 150–250 mm tall. The dorsal sepal is erect, 12–16 mm long and 3–4 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 17–21 mm long, 5–6 mm wide and held at an angle below horizontal. The petals are 16–18 mm long, about 4 mm wide and spread horizontally. The labellum is 6–7 mm long, 6–8 mm wide and white with a yellow tip which has a few blunt teeth and curves downward. The sides of the labellum turn upwards and surround the column and there are two rows of yellow calli up to about 1.5 mm long along its mid-line. Flowering occurs from September to October. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia xantholeuca was first described in 1998 by David Jones from a specimen collected in Telowie Gorge and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. [1] The specific epithet (xantholeuca) is derived from the Ancient Greek words xanthos meaning "yellow" [6] :872 and leukos meaning "white" [6] :856 referring to the white flower with yellow parts of the labellum. [3]

Distribution and habitat

There are three known populations of Flinders fingers, two in the Mount Remarkable National Park and one in the Telowie Gorge Conservation Park, each with about 80 plants, but the orchid has rarely been seen since 1982 because of extended droughts and lack of fire. [5] A photograph taken in 2011 was confirmed as a sighting. [7]

There are slight differences between the orchids in Telowie Gorge and those on Mount Remarkable and it may be that in the future they are recognised as separate species. [4]

Conservation status

Caladenia xantholeuca is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "endangered" and "possibly extinct", under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act. [4] [4] [8]

Related Research Articles

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.

<i>Caladenia arenaria</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia arenaria, commonly known as the sand-hill spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a ground orchid with a single, densely hairy leaf and one or two white or pale yellow flowers with maroon tips. Formerly much more widespread, it is now only known from about two thousand individual plants in five locations in the Riverina area and is classed as "Endangered".

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 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.

Caladenia drakeoides, commonly known as the hinged dragon orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and a single greenish-yellow and red flower with a hinged labellum resembling a female thynnid wasp.

<i>Caladenia fulva</i> Species of orchid

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 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 ovata</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia ovata, commonly known as the Kangaroo Island spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two red flowers, sometimes with yellow patches. It is only found on Kangaroo Island and nearby Fleurieu Peninsula.

<i>Caladenia procera</i> Species of orchid

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 rigida, commonly known as the stiff spider orchid, or white spider-orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two white flowers with dark glandular tips on the sepals and fine reddish-brown lines 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.

<i>Caladenia tensa</i> Species of orchid

Caladenia tensa, commonly known as the rigid 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 one or two pale green flowers with red stripes. It is mainly only found in the Little Desert National Park in Victoria and in the far south-east of South Australia but there are four records from New South Wales.

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

Caladenia ultima, commonly known as the late 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 creamy-yellow flowers with a red-striped labellum. It is one of the last spiders orchids to flower each year.

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.

<i>Caladenia williamsiae</i> Species of orchid

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 winfieldii, commonly known as the majestic spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rare species with a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two bright pink flowers and grows in only two seasonally wet locations, a few hundred metres apart.

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 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Caladenia xantholeuca". APNI. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  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. 43. ISBN   1877069124.
  3. 1 2 Jones, David L. (1991). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 2: 36.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Approved Conservation Advice for Caladenia xantholeuca (Flinders Ranges White Caladenia)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Recovery plant for twelve threatened orchids in the Lofty Block region of South Australia" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  7. ""Orchid reappears at Mount Remarkable after 30-year absence"". Government of South Australia Department of the Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  8. "SPRAT Profile Caladenia xantholeuca — White Rabbits, Flinders Ranges White Caladenia". Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 8 August 2022.