Misplaced Pages

Caladenia flaccida

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Species of orchid

Flaccid spider orchid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species: C. flaccida
Binomial name
Caladenia flaccida
D.L.Jones
Synonyms
  • Calonema flaccidum (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.
  • Calonema flaccidum (D.L.Jones) Szlach.
  • Calonemorchis flaccida (D.L.Jones) Szlach.
  • Jonesiopsis flaccida (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

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.

Description

Caladenia flaccida is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single, dull green, densely hairy, linear leaf 120–180 mm (5–7 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide. Up to three cream-coloured, pinkish or red flowers are borne on a thin, wiry spike 120–230 mm (5–9 in) high. The sepals and petals are linear in shape near their base but suddenly taper after about one-fifth of their length to a hairy, thread-like glandular tail. The dorsal sepal is 60–90 mm (2–4 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide near the base. The lateral sepals are a similar size and shape to the dorsal sepal and the petals are slightly shorter. The labellum is narrow heart-shaped, about 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and 5.5–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide and cream-coloured with red markings or completely red. The labellum curves forward and has broad, white-tipped teeth on the sides and two rows of crowded, cream-coloured, stalked calli along its mid-line, decreasing in size towards the tip. Flowering occurs from August to October.

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia flaccida was first formally described by David Jones in 1991 and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. The specific epithet (flaccida) is a Latin word meaning "weak" or "drooping", referring to the drooping sepals and petals.

Distribution and habitat

Flaccid spider orchid grows on ridges and slopes in Callitris forest in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and possibly Victoria.

References

  1. ^ "Caladenia flaccida". APNI. Retrieved 3 February 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. 104. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. Jones, David L. (1991). "New taxa of Australian Orchidaceae". Australian Orchid Research. 2: 24–25.
  4. ^ Berndardt, Peter. "Caladenia flaccida". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 725.
  6. "Species profile—Caladenia flaccida (Orchidaceae)". Queensland Government. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  7. "Orchidaceae". State Herbarium of South Australia: eflora SA. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
Taxon identifiers
Caladenia flaccida
Categories: