''Caladenia conferta'', commonly known as the crowded spider orchid or coast spider-orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in South Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf, and usually a single yellowish-green flower with red markings on a wiry, hairy stalk.

Description

''Caladenia conferta'' 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. It has a single, dull green, hairy, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaf, long and wide. Usually only one unscented flower is borne on a wiry, hairy spike, tall. The flowers are about across, yellowish-green with red stripes along the 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. The dorsal sepal is erect and curves forward, linear to lance-shaped, long, about wide and narrows to a glandular region long. The lateral sepals are oblong to lance-shaped, curved like a sickle, long, wide and have a glandular tip like that on the dorsal sepal. The petals are linear to lance-shaped, long, about wide. The lateral sepals and the petals spread widely. The labellum is heart-shaped, long, wide and has three lobes. It is dark, yellowish-green with a dark maroon tip and the edges have irregular teeth. There are six crowded rows of calli along the centre of the labellum, decreasing in size towards the front. Flowering occurs from August to September.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia conferta'' was first formally described by David L. Jones in 1991 and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. 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 between Port Julia and Port Vincent. 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 ...

(''conferta'') is a Latin word meaning "crowded", referring to the crowded calli in the centre of the labellum.

Distribution and habitat

This caladenia grows in mallee woodland. It is found in the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and South-East botanical regions of South Australia.

Conservation

Coloured spider-orchid is classified as "Endangered" in South Australia and under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The main threats to the species are grazing by native and feral animals, competition from weed species and habitat loss due to land clearing.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287498 conferta Plants described in 1991 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of South Australia Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)