''Caladenia orestes'' 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 an area in the south of

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 ...

. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and one or two cream-coloured to light reddish flowers. It grows in forest on hillsides around Burrinjuck.

Description

''Caladenia orestes'' 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 a spherical underground

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

and a single linear to lance-shaped leaf, long and wide with a reddish to purplish base. One or two cream coloured to pink or reddish flowers are borne on a flowering stem tall. The dorsal

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 is long, about wide, narrow egg-shaped to elliptic near its base then tapers to a blackish glandular tip. The lateral sepals are long, wide, lance-shaped to egg-shaped near the base then taper to blackish glandular tips. The

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, about wide and otherwise similar to the sepals. The lateral sepals and petals spread widely, turn down slightly or droop. The labellum is long, wide and curves forward with its tip strongly curving downwards. There are between 7 and 14 pairs of dark purplish, linear teeth up to long on the sides of the labellum and four or six rows of calli along the mid-line of the labellum, the longest of which are about long and shaped like hockey sticks. Flowering occurs during October and in early November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia orestes'' was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones who gave it the name ''Arachnorchis orestes''. The specimen was collected near Burrinjuck village and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. In 2010 Gary Backhouse changed the name to ''Caladenia orestes'' and published the change 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 ...

(''orestes'') is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

word meaning "mountaineer" referring to the steep mountain slopes where this species grows.

Distribution and habitat

This spider orchid grows with grasses or shrubs in forest on steep hillsides around Burrinjuck in the south-west slopes region of New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287611 orestes Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by David L. Jones (botanist)