''Caladenia anthracina'', commonly known as the black-tipped 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 white or cream-coloured flower with red markings and black tips on the sepals and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

Description

''Caladenia anthracina'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous,

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with an underground tuber surrounded by a fibrous covering. A single hairy, dull green, lance-shaped leaf, long and wide appears above ground in May or June, following rain. A single flower, in diameter is borne on a densely spike high. The dorsal sepal is erect, linear to oblong, long, wide and tapers near the end to a thick, black tip. The lateral sepals are lance-shaped, long, wide and taper towards a black tip similar to the one on the dorsal sepal. The petals are long, wide and also taper to a black point. The labellum is a broadly egg-shaped when flattened and curves forward, long and wide and is strongly curved towards the tip. It is white to cream-coloured and there are four to six rows of dark reddish-purple calli along in the centre part and short, blunt teeth along the edge. The

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

is long and translucent with reddish markings and narrow wings. Flowering occurs between late September and early November.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by David L. Jones in 1998 and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research'' from a specimen collected near

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(anthracina) is a Latin word meaning "coal-black" referring to the glands on the ends of the sepals and petals.

Distribution and habitat

''Caladenia anthracina'' is only known from an area of in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

where it grows in grassy woodland in sandy soil.

Conservation

This species is classified as "Endangered" by the Tasmanian government and is listed as "critically endangered" (CR) under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287456 anthracina Plants described in 1998 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Tasmania Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)