''Caladenia chapmanii'', commonly known as Chapman's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic 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 ...

of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to three flowers which are either maroon, yellow or cream-coloured. Caladenia chapmanii labellum

Description

''Caladenia chapmanii'' 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 ...

which often grows in large groups. It has an underground tuber and a single erect, hairy leaf long and wide. The inflorescence is a

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 ...

, high with up to three flowers, each flower long and wide. The flowers are either maroon, yellow or cream-coloured with lateral 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 that are long, tapering and drooping. The labellum is relatively large, compared to other caladenias, white with red stripes and has serrated or toothed edges. There are two rows of red or white calli along the centre line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to mid-October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia chapmanii'' was first formally described by

Stephen Hopper Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...

and Andrew Brown in 2001 from a specimen collected near Boyup Brook. The description was published in '' Nuytsia''.

Herman Rupp Herman Montague Rucker Rupp (27 December 1872 – 2 September 1956) was an Australian clergyman and botanist who specialised in orchids. He was known throughout his life as Montague Rupp (pronounced "Rupe") and in later life as the "Orchid Man". R ...

recognised this orchid as a new species in about 1940 but did not publish a description. 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 ...

(''chapmanii'') honours Eric Chapman, an amateur orchid enthusiast who has a population of this orchid growing on his property.

Distribution and habitat

Chapman's spider orchid occurs in scattered populations between

Yallingup Yallingup is a town in the South West region of Western Australia, south of Perth. Yallingup is a popular tourist destination because of its beaches and limestone caves, and proximity to Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. History and industry Y ...

and Waroona in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

where it grows in woodland.

Conservation

''Caladenia chapmanii'' 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=Q9673425 chapmanii Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 2001 Taxa named by Stephen Hopper Taxa named by Andrew Phillip Brown