Caladenia cruscula

Caladenia cruscula, commonly known as the reclining spider orchid is a species of orchid endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single hairy leaf and a single cream-coloured flower with a long red fringe on the sides of its labellum.

Reclining spider orchid
Caladenia cruscula growing near Scaddan
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. cruscula
Binomial name
Caladenia cruscula
Synonyms

Arachnorchis cruscula (Hopper & A.P.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Description

Caladenia cruscula is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and which grows as solitary plants or in loose clumps. It has a single, erect, hairy leaf, 8–13 cm (3–5 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide. Up to two creamy-white or yellowish-cream flowers with a cream-coloured labellum flowers are borne on a stalk 18–25 cm (7–10 in) tall. The flowers are 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) wide and 40–60 mm (1.6–2.4 in) long. The sepals and petals are held stiffly and spread obliquely downwards and are 3–5 cm (1–2 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, tapering to a thread-like end with a densely glandular tip. The dorsal sepal is erect, linear to lance-shaped, about 4 cm (2 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide at the base. The petals are narrower than the lateral sepals. The labellum is uniformly cream-coloured except for the red fringe on the edges and the red calli in the centre of the labellum. It is 12–15 cm (5–6 in) long and 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide, erect near the base but curves strongly forward near the tip. The fringe is composed of thread-like teeth up to 5 mm (0.2 in) long with pale whitish tips, decreasing in size towards the front of the labellum. There are four rows of pale maroon, golf stick-shaped calli in the centre of the labellum, decreasing in size towards its tip. Flowering occurs from August to September.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Caladenia cruscula was first formally described by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown in 2001 from a specimen collected by Alex George in the Kau Rock Nature Reserve north east of Esperance. The description was published in Nuytsia.[1] The specific epithet (cruscula) is a Latin word meaning "little leg"[6] and refers to the relatively short sepals and petals of this species, compared to those of similar orchids.[2][4]

Distribution and habitat

The reclining spider orchid is found between Salmon Gums and Mount Ragged in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions. It grows in moist places near granite outcrops, salt lakes and flats, usually under eucalypts or melaleucas.[2][3][5][7]

Conservation

Caladenia cruscula is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7]

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References
  1. "Caladenia cruscula". APNI. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  2. Brown, Andrew; Dixon, Kingsley; French, Christopher; Brockman, Garry (2013). Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia. Simon Nevill Publications. p. 81. ISBN 9780980348149.
  3. Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 87. ISBN 9780646562322.
  4. Hopper, Stephen; Brown, Andrew Philip (2001). "Contributions to Western Australian orchidology: 2. New taxa and circumscriptions in Caledenia". Nuytsia. 14: 61–65.
  5. Archer, William. "Caladenia cruscula". Esperance Wildflowers. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 241.
  7. "Caladenia cruscula". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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