''Caladenia behrii'', commonly known as pink-lipped spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It has a single narrow, hairy leaf and one or two creamy-white flowers with pink tips in early spring.

Description

''Caladenia behrii'' is a terrestrial,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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, narrow lance-shaped leaf, long that develops during winter. There are one or two flowers on a thin, hairy

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

up to high, each flower up to in diameter. The

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction *Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle *Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral cons ...

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 ...

s are long, creamy-white in colour with red

glandular In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

tips that produce an aroma described as "strong musky" or "subtle spicy". The petals and sepals spread widely at their bases but have drooping, thread-like ends. The labellum is egg-shaped to lance-shaped, about long, whitish-green with a pink or red curled tip. The labellum has a fringed edge and there are between four and six rows of red calli along its mid-line. Flowering occurs in August and September and is followed by an oblong-shaped capsule which releases hundreds of seeds in late October or November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia behrii'' was first formally described by Diederich Schlechtendal in 1847 and the description was published in ''Linnaea: ein Journal für die Botanik in ihrem ganzen Umfange, oder Beiträge zur Pflanzenkunde''. 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 ...

honours the

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Hans Hermann Behr Hans Hermann Behr (August 18, 1818, Köthen (Anhalt), Köthen – March 6, 1904, San Francisco) was a German Americans, German-American Physician, doctor, entomologist and botanist. At the time of his death, the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' r ...

Distribution and habitat

This caladenia occurs in two small disjunct populations, one near

Kersbrook Kersbrook (formerly Maidstone) is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Kersbrook had a population of 367. History The first settlers established farms in t ...

and Williamstown and the other near Belair and Clarendon. It grows on loamy soils in woodland.

Ecology

As with many other caladenias. the pink-lipped spider orchid is pollinated by male thynnid wasps when they attempt to copulate with the labellum. Since the orchid is an endangered species, hand pollination may be used to propagate the species artificially. Research has shown that cross pollination and pollination with a single

pollinium A pollinium (plural pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of mil ...

increase the number and viability of seeds produced. Unlike for some other species, fire does not induce or increase the flowering of ''C. behrii''.

Conservation

''Caladenia behrii'' is classified as "Endangered" under the Government of South Australia National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1972 and the Australian Government

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

(EPBC Act).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673360 behrii Plants described in 1847 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of South Australia