''Caladenia brunonis'', commonly known as the purple enamel 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 ...

to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is a ground orchid with a single flattened, hairy leaf and up to three glossy purple flowers. It has recently been known as ''Elythranthera brunonis'' since 1963 but recent discoveries suggest its inclusion in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Caladenia''.

Description

''Caladenia brunonis'' 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 ...

, sympodial herb with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

partly surrounded by a fibrous, multi-layered protective

sheath Sheath pronounced as , may refer to: * Scabbard, a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade, as well as guns, such as rifles. * The outer covering of a cable * Condom, a kind of contraception * Debye sheath, a layer of a plasma in ...

. It has a single flattened, dark green, hairy leaf, long and about wide with a reddish-purple underside. Up to three glossy purple flowers long and wide are borne on a spike tall. The

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 ...

s 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 spread apart from each other, have blackish tips and are blotched with red or purple on their backs. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide. The lateral sepals and petals are long and wide. The labellum is about long, wide and whitish with the tip curved upward. At the base of the labellum there are two erect, fleshy calli about high with yellow bases and black or dark purple tips. Flowering occurs from August to early November.

Taxonomy and naming

The purple enamel orchid was first formally described in 1839 by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...

who gave it the name ''Glossodia brunonis'' and published the description in ''Novarum Stirpium Decades''. In 1871, Heinrich Reichenbach changed the name to ''Caladenia brunonis'' and in 1963,

Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to: *Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist * Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist * Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher *Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...

changed it to ''Elythranthera brunonis''. In 2015, as a result of studies of

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

, Mark Clements changed the name to back ''Caladenia brunonis''. 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 ...

(''brunonis'') honours the Scottish botanist Robert Brown. ''Elythranthera brunonis'' is regarded as a synonym of the name ''Caladenia brunonis'' which is accepted by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

Distribution and habitat

''Caladenia brunonis'' is a common and widespread species in Western Australia, found as far north as Kalbarri and as far east as

Israelite Bay Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia. Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Grea ...

, growing in forest, woodland and heath.

Conservation

''Caladenia brunonis'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5368589 brunonis Plants described in 1839 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Taxa named by Stephan Endlicher