''Caladenia audasii'' is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a rare ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and a single yellow flower.

Description

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

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with an underground tuber and a single hairy leaf, long and wide. A single yellow flower in diameter is borne on a spike high. The

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 ...

s and sepals are long and spreading, the petals somewhat shorter than the sepals. The petals and lateral sepals are wide and taper to a thread-like end covered with glandular hairs. The labellum is curved with the tip rolled under and has erect lateral lobes. It is about long and wide when flattened. The edges of the labellum are scalloped and the middle lobe has short, broad teeth. There are six rows of stalkless calli along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to November.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...

in 1927 and the description was published in ''Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia''. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimen was collected on Mount McIvor near

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. 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 ...

(''audasii'') honours James Wales Clarendon Audas, a member of staff at the National Herbarium of Victoria.

Distribution and habitat

Only five plants of this orchid species were known in 2000, growing in grassy

Box–ironbark forest Box–ironbark forest is a forest or woodland ecosystem that is largely limited to central Victoria in south-eastern Australia. Because its component tree species produce abundant nectar and pollen throughout the year, it is important for the c ...

in three disjunct populations near Bendigo, Kingower and Deep Lead north-west of Stawell. It is extinct in South Australia. In June 2015, thirty new plants were introduced into the

Greater Bendigo National Park The Greater Bendigo National Park is a national park located in the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The national park was created in 2002 from the former Whipstick State Park, Kamarooka State Park, One Tree Hill Regional Park, Man ...

Conservation

This species is classified as "Endangered" under the Commonwealth Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (EPBC) Act.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673338 audasii Plants described in 1927 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (state) Taxa named by Richard Sanders Rogers