''Caladenia hildae'', commonly known as golden caps, honey caladenia or honey hood is a plant in the orchid family

Orchidaceae 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 ...

and is

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-east of mainland

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 is a ground orchid with a single leaf and up to four yellowish-brown to golden-brown flowers with darker tips on the

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 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 ...

Description

''Caladenia hildae'' 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, sparsely hairy, linear leaf, long and wide. There are up to four flowers on a spike tall. The flowers are yellowish-brown to golden-brown flowers with darker tips. The sepals and petals have pointed, drooping tips. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and about wide and curves forward forming a hood over and around the sides of the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

. The lateral sepals and petals are long and about wide. The labellum is egg-shaped, long, wide with the sides turned up and the tip rolled under. The labellum is white with a dark purple, glandular tip, narrow white or yellow-tipped teeth on the sides and four crowded rows of calli along its mid-line. Flowering occurs in October and November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia hildae'' was first formally described in 1928 by Edward Pescott and William Nicholls and the description was published in ''The Victorian Naturalist''. 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 ...

(''hildae'') honours Hilda Elliott for her assistance in obtaining grant money. Although recognised by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and the National Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney as a valid name, ''C. hildae'' is regarded as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Caladenia testacea'' var. ''hildae'' by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

Distribution and habitat

Golden caps grows in sparse or heathy forest and woodland in high-altitude areas in

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 ...

south from the Kybean Range and in Victoria mainly eastwards from Omeo.

Conservation

''Caladenia hildae'' is listed as "rare" by the Victorian Government

Department of Sustainability and Environment The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) was a state government department that managed water resources, climate change, bushfires, public land, forests and eco systems in the state of Victoria, Australia. It was created in 2002 whe ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q29025612 hildae Plants described in 1928 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of New South Wales Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)