''Caladenia oenochila'', commonly known as the red-lipped spider orchid, or wine-lipped spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale yellow-green flower with purple marks and a dark red labellum.

Description

''Caladenia oenochila'' 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 a spherical underground tuber. It has a single, sparsely hairy, lance-shaped leaf, long and wide with reddish spots near the base. One or two flowers across are borne on a spike tall. The flowers are pale yellow-green flowers with purple stripes or blotches. 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 ...

s are broad near their bases then suddenly taper to long, thin, reddish, glandular tips. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide. The lateral sepals are long, wide, spread widely and turn downwards. The petals are long, about wide and also curve downwards. The labellum is long, wide and dark red or pale yellow with dark red edges and the tip curled under. The sides of the labellum have dark red, linear teeth up to long, decreasing in length towards the tip. There are four or six well-spaced rows of calli along its mid-line. Flowering occurs in August and September and is more prolific after summer bushfire.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia oenochila'' was first formally described in 1991 by

Geoffrey Carr Geoffrey Carr (22 January 1886 – 13 July 1969) was a Great Britain, British rowing Coxswain (rowing), coxswain who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Carr was born in Putney and became a member of Thames Rowing Club. He was the coxswain ...

from a specimen collected near Officer and the description was published in ''Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association Miscellaneous Paper 1''. 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 ...

(''oenochila'') is derived from the Ancient Greek words οἶνος ''oinos'' meaning "wine" and χεῖλος ''cheilos'' meaning "lip" or "rim".

Distribution and habitat

The red-lipped spider orchid is mostly found in the southern foothills of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

where it grows in shaded places in forest or woodland.

Conservation

''Caladenia oenochila'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Victorian ''

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673799 oenochila Plants described in 1991 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (state)