Caladenia Granitora
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''Caladenia granitora'', commonly known as the granite spider orchid, 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 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 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 has a single, hairy leaf and one or two yellowish-cream, white and red flowers which have a white labellum with a red tip.


Description

''Caladenia granitora'' 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 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 ...
and a single erect, hairy leaf, long and wide. One or two flowers long and wide are borne on a stalk tall. The flowers are yellowish-cream, white and red while the lateral
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 have thin, club-like, yellowish-brown glandular tips. 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 spread widely or curve gently downwards. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide at the base and the lateral sepals and petals are long and about wide. The labellum is mostly white, long and wide but the tip of the labellum is red and points forward. The sides of the labellum have spreading, reddish teeth up to long and there are four rows of deep red calli up to long, along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from October to November.


Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia granitora'' was first described in 2001 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 Phillip Brown Andrew Phillip Brown (born 1951) is a conservation biologist and taxonomist at the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation. He is also curator of Orchidaceae and Myoporaceae Myoporaceae was a family of plants, found mostly ...
from a specimen collected near
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 the description was published in ''
Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
''. 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 ...
(''granitora'') is derived from 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 ...
words ''graniticus'' meaning "of granite" and ''ora'' meaning "the coast", referring to the habitat preference of this species.


Distribution and habitat

The granite 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 Cheyne Beach in the
Waychinicup National Park Waychinicup National Park is in Western Australia, southeast of Perth and east of Albany, along the coast of the Southern Ocean. Location and description The park is bordered by the Southern Ocean to the south, Mount Manypeaks Nature Reserv ...
where it grows in heath on coastal
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
outcrops.


Conservation

Surveys of ''Caladenia granitora'' recorded a total of 63 individuals in four populations. In 2014, the species was classified as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" 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 ...
. The main threats to the species are recreational activities, road maintenance, altered fire regimes and small population size.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673644 granitora Orchids of Western Australia Endemic orchids of Australia Plants described in 2001 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Stephen Hopper Taxa named by Andrew Phillip Brown