''Caladenia moschata'', commonly known as musky caps or musky caladenia, 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 eastern and south-eastern Australia, including

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and up to five flowers which are dark-coloured on the back and white on the front, sometimes tinged with pink and with a strong musky or soapy odour. The species was previously known as ''Caladenia gracilis''.

Description

''Caladenia moschata'' 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 which grows singly or in small groups. It has a single, slightly hairy leaf long and wide. Up to five musky or soapy-scented flowers are borne on a spike tall. 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 ...

s are white on the front, sometimes tinged with pink or bronze colours and their backs have greenish-brown or purplish glandular hairs. The sepals and petals spread horizontally or slightly downwards. The dorsal

is erect, linear in shape, long, wide and curves forward, forming a hood over 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. ...

and around its sides. The lateral sepals are long, about wide and the petals are long and wide. The labellum is long and wide and white with red or purplish spots. The sides of the labellum are slightly wavy near its base and have teeth nearer the tip which is strongly curled under and pink. There are four rows of calli along the centre of the labellum. The column has broad, rounded wings and reddish blotches. Flowering is in October and November and is followed by oval-shaped, greenish or reddish capsules long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia moschata'' was first formally in 2008 by David Jones and the description was published in ''The Orchadian''. 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 ...

(''moschata'') is a

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 ...

word meaning "perfumed with musk". This species was previously known as ''Caladenia gracilis'' and is still recorded as such by the

National Herbarium of New South Wales The National Herbarium of New South Wales was established in 1853. The Herbarium has a collection of more than 1.4 million plant specimens, making it the second largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia,Thiers, B. ...

and the State Herbarium of South Australia.

Distribution and habitat

Musky caps occurs 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 ...

, Victoria,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

where it grows in open forest, on dry ridges and slopes. In New South Wales it is found south from the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

region, it is widespread in Victoria and Tasmania, and in South Australia it occurs in the south east corner near Millicent, Glencoe and

Wrattonbully Wrattonbully is a wine region in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia's South East, between the Padthaway and Coonawarra regions, between the Riddoch Highway and the Victorian border.Longbottom et al., 2011, page 20 The Wrattonbul ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287628 moschata Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of Tasmania Orchids of South Australia Plants described in 2008 Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)