Caladenia lobata

Butterfly orchid
C. lobata growing near Mount Barker Western Australia.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species: C. lobata
Binomial name
Caladenia lobata
Fitzg. (1882)

Caladenia lobata, commonly known as the butterfly orchid is a species of orchid endemic to the south–west of Western Australia.

Description

Caladenia lobata has a single leaf, 100–200 mm long and 10–14 mm wide. The flower stem is hairy, 300–500 mm high and bears 1 or 2 flowers, each 70–90 mm across. The flowers are greenish–yellowish with red markings and appear from September to November. The labellum (central lip of the flower) is delicately hinged and has erect to spreading teeth up to 12 mm long on the sides and (non–secreting) glands or calli which are yellow with red tips in the centre.[1]

Distribution and habitat

The Butterfly orchid usually grows in dense, shrubby forest in well-drained grey sand, gravelly or clayey loam, or laterite, frequently on flats and slopes near streams.[1] It occurs in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographical regions of Western Australia.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia lobata was first described by Robert D. FitzGerald in 1882 in The Gardeners' Chronicle, in which he describes the species as "A tall robust species, probably the tallest in the genus. From 1 foot 6 inches to 2 feet, hairy."[3]

Side view of C. lobata.

In a review of the genus Caladenia in 2004, C.lobata was renamed Arachnorchis plicata (Fitzg.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.[4][5]

The specific epithet (lobatus) is derived from a Latin word meaning "having lobes"[6]

References

  1. 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. 91. ISBN 1877069124.
  2. ↑ "Caladenia lobata Rchb.f.". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. ↑ "The Gardeners' Chronicle". pp. 461–462. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Hopper, Stephen D.; Brown, Andrew P. (29 April 2004). "Robert Brown's Caladenia revisited, including a revision of its sister genera Cyanicula, Ericksonella and Pheladenia (Caladeniinae: Orchidaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 17 (2): 171–240. doi:10.1071/sb03002.
  5. ↑ "Arachnorchis lobata (Fitzg.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  6. ↑ "Wild Cucumber (Wild Balsam-apple)". The Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
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