''Caladenia marginata'', commonly known as the white fairy orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single pale green, hairy leaf and up to four creamy-white flowers and often grows in dense colonies, flowering profusely after summer fires.

Description

''Caladenia marginata'' 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 often grows in dense colonies. It has a single, broad, pale green, hairy leaf, long and about wide. Up to four creamy-white (or rarely pink) flowers long and wide are borne on a stalk tall. The back surface of the 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 ...

is a rusty-brown colour. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide and the lateral sepals are long, wide and spread stiffly. The petals are long and wide, and spread like the lateral sepals. The labellum is long and wide and has a few short teeth on its sides and there are two rows of yellowish calli in its centre. Flowering occurs from late September to November, most prolifically after fire the previous summer. Although superficially similar to the white or pink forms of pink fairies ('' C. latifolia''), ''C. marginata'' flowers later and has smaller flowers with brown hairs on the back.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia marginata'' was first described in 1840 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 ...

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, ...

''. 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 ...

(''marginata'') is a Latin word meaning "furnished with a border" referring to the thickened border of the sepals and petals.

Distribution and habitat

White fairies occurs between Jurien Bay in the north-west 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 south-east, growing in swamps and in shallow soil on granite outcrops in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee,

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 ...

Conservation

''Caladenia marginata'' 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=Q2855410 marginata Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 1840