Caladenia discoidea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dancing spider orchid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Caladenia discoidea growing near Bertram | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Caladenia |
| Species: | C. discoidea |
| Binomial name | |
| Caladenia discoidea Lindl. (1840) | |
Caladenia discoidea, commonly known as the dancing spider orchid, antelope orchid or bee orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is distinguished by its horizontally arranged flowers and unusually short sepals and petals.
Caladenia discoidea has a single leaf, 8–18 mm (0.3–0.7 in) long, about 8 mm (0.3 in) wide and hairy on both surfaces. The flower stem is 90–450 mm (4–20 in) long and bears 1 to 4 flowers, each 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long and wide. The flowers are oriented horizontally, are yellow and green with red stripes, have very short petals and sepals and a rounded, fringed labellum with dark calli. Flowers appear between August and early October.[1][2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
Caladenia discoidea was first described by John Lindley in 1840 in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[5][6] The specific epithet is "from the Latin discoideus (rounded blade and thickened margin), alluding to the rounded labellum shape".[2]
Distribution and habitat
The dancing spider orchid is widespread in the drier areas of the south-west between Kalbarri and Israelite Bay, growing in woodland, sometimes on the edges of salt lakes.[1][2] It occurs in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions of Western Australia.[3][7]