''Caladenia hirta'' subsp. ''hirta'', commonly known as the sugar candy orchid or candy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is 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 leaf and up to three creamy-white or pink flowers with brownish tips and a brown back. Caladenia hirta subsp

Description

''Caladenia hirta'' subsp. ''hirta'' 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 which usually occurs as single plants. It has a single hairy leaf, long and wide which lies flat on the ground. Up to three (rarely six) flowers long and wide are borne on a spike tall. The flowers are creamy-white to pink on the front with brownish tips and a brown back. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and about wide. 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 are long and wide with the sepals wider than the petals. The lateral sepals and petals spread slightly upwards, then arch downwards. The labellum is long, wide and white to pink with its tip rolled downwards. There are many teeth up to long along the sides of the labellum and four rows of pink calli along its centre. Flowering occurs from late August to early November and there are more flowers after summer fires.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia hirta'' was first formally described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1840 and the description was published in ''

A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it, ...

'' but in 2001

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 Brown described two subspecies, including subspecies ''hirta'' and the description of the two subspecies was published in '' Nuytsia''. 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 ...

(''hirta'') is a Latin word meaning “hairy” or "rough" referring to the thick hairs on most parts of this orchid.

Distribution and habitat

The sugar candy orchid occurs between Arrowsmith and Albany in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest,

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

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 and forest areas that are swampy in winter.

Conservation

''Caladenia hirta'' subsp. ''hirta'' 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=Q26238639 hirta subsp. hirta Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 1840 Taxa named by Stephen Hopper