''Caladenia graminifolia'', commonly known as the grass-leafed spider orchid, is a species of orchid 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 glabrous leaf and one or two short-lived, greenish-yellow and red flowers which have a narrow labellum with long teeth on its sides.

Description

''Caladenia graminifolia'' 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 and a single, nearly hairless leaf, long and about wide. One or two greenish-yellow and red flowers long and wide are borne on a stalk tall. The flowers are

self-pollinating Self-pollination is a form of pollination in which pollen from the same plant arrives at the stigma of a flower (in flowering plants) or at the ovule (in gymnosperms). There are two types of self-pollination: in autogamy, pollen is transferred to ...

and are only open for a day or two. The 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 have thickened glandular tips, more prominent on the lateral sepals. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide. The lateral sepals are long and wide, turn downwards and often cross each other. The petals are long and about wide and spread widely, mostly horizontally. The labellum is long and wide and greenis-white with a red tip. The sides of the labellum have a fringe of teeth up to long and there are two or four rows of maroon calli up to long, along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to September.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia graminifolia'' was first formally described by

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 ...

in 1971 and the description was published in '' Nuytsia'' from a specimen at

Culham Inlet Culham Inlet is an inlet located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The inlet is also referred to as a coastal salt lake or a transient estuary, as the sand bar that prevents it discharging is almost always closed. The wetl ...

. 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 ...

(''graminifolia'') is derived from the Latin ''gramen, graminis'' meaning "grass" and ''-folius'' meaning "-leaved", referring to the grass-like leaf of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

The grass-leafed spider orchid occurs between

Mount Manypeaks Mount Manypeaks is a distinctive peak located approximately north-east of Albany, north-east of Two Peoples Bay and south-east of the town of Manypeaks, in Western Australia. Mount Manypeaks Nature Reserve lies to the south of the peak, e ...

and

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 ...

in the Esperance Plains and Mallee

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 ...

. It grows in woodland under tall shrubs and sometimes on granite outcrops.

Conservation

''Caladenia graminifolia'' 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=Q9673638 graminifolia Orchids of Western Australia Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 1971 Endemic flora of Western Australia