''Caladenia gracillima'', commonly known as pretty fingers, is a species of

orchid 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 ...

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 eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has a single leaf and up to three bright pink flowers. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected at Yandina in southern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

but there are also records from southern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Description

''Caladenia gracillima'' 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 leaf, 90–150 mm long and 2–3 mm wide. Up to three bright pink flowers with dusky pink backs and 25–40 mm long, 20–40 mm wide are borne on a stalk 100–200 mm tall. 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 erect, 10–18 mm long and 2–4 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 13–25 mm long, 4–6 mm wide and the petals are 12–22 mm long, 2–5 mm wide and spread fan-like with the lateral sepals in front of the flower. The labellum is 6–8 mm long, 5–7 mm wide and white with pink to mauve edges. The sides of the labellum turn upwards and the tip has 8 to 14 yellow to orange teeth on each side and curls downward. There are two rows of red to orange calli along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to September.

Taxonomy and naming

This orchid was first formally described in 1939 by

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 ...

who gave it the name ''Caladenia carnea'' var. ''gracillima'' and published the description in ''The Queensland Naturalist'' from a specimen collected at Yandina. In 2000, David Jones raised the variety to species status. 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 ...

(''gracillima'') is the

superlative Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages t ...

form of the

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 ''gracilis'' meaning "slender" or "thin", hence "most slender". Referring to ''C. carnea'' var. ''gracillima'', Rupp noted "the segments are narrow and acuminate" and "the labellum is ...narrower than in other forms".

Distribution and habitat

Pretty fingers grows in forest between

Dayboro Dayboro is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dayboro had a population of 2,119 people. Geography Dayboro Main Street 002 Cooroy Cooroy is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cooroy had a population of 3,791 people. Geography Cooroy is inland from the northern Sunshine Coast hinterland about west of Noosa H ...

in south-east Queensland but there are also records from the southern tablelands of

Conservation

''Caladenia gracillima'' is listed as of "least concern" in Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673633 gracillima Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Queensland Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1939 Taxa named by Herman Rupp