''Caladenia brumalis'', commonly known as winter spider orchid, is a species of flowering 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 an erect, hairy leaf and usually a single white to pinkish flower with darker markings. It is only found in a few places due to habitat loss and is considered to be vulnerable.

Description

''Caladenia brumalis'' 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 erect, hairy, lance-shaped leaf, long and wide. There is usually only a single white to pinkish flower with darker stripes, on a stem high. The flowers are about wide. The dorsal

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

is lance-shaped near the base and long, wide near the base but narrows to a thread-like tip covered with many black

glands 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 ...

. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, long, wide but narrow to a tip similar to that on the dorsal sepal. 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 are similar to the lateral sepals but slightly shorter and narrower. The labellum is whitish or pinkish, sometimes with red markings and is long, wide with erect lateral lobes. There are seven to nine calli about on the sides of the lobes and many short, white-tipped calli along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs in August and September.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia brumalis'' was first formally described by David L. Jones in 1991 from a specimen collected near Port Victoria and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. 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 ...

(''brumalis'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "of the shortest day" or "wintry" and refers to the late winter flowering of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

This caladenia occurs in woodland, mallee, shrubland and sedgeland in restricted coastal locations near

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and on the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas. It is known to flower profusely after fire.

Conservation

''Caladenia brumalis'' is classified as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 of South Australia. The main threats to it are loss of habitat, high grazing pressure and weed invasion.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287474 brumalis Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of South Australia Plants described in 1991 Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)