''Caladenia stricta'', commonly known as the upright spider orchid or rigid-combed spider-orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern continental

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale green flower with red lines along 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 ...

Description

''Caladenia stricta'' 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. It has a single, dull green, hairy, linear leaf, 60–100 mm long and 10–15 mm wide with reddish blotches near its base. Usually only one flower 25–40 mm across is borne on a spike 150–400 mm tall. The flowers are pale green with central stripes along the sepals and petals which taper to fine points The dorsal sepal is erect, 25–33 mm long, 2–3 mm wide and curves gently forwards. The lateral sepals have about the same dimensions as the dorsal sepal and are usually curved downwards and sometimes cross each other. The

s are 16–23 mm long, 2–3 mm wide and held horizontally or curve downwards. The labellum is 15–17 mm long, 14–16 mm wide, and pale green with a pale yellow central region and a dark red tip. Each side of the labellum has between five and seven thin green teeth up to 5 mm long. The tip of the labellum curls under and there are four to six rows of thick, crowded, reddish-black calli up to 2 mm long, along the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to November.

Taxonomy and naming

This orchid was first formally described in 1984 by Robert Bates from a specimen collected on the Yorke Peninsula. He gave it the name ''Caladenia dilatata'' var. ''stricta'' and published the description in the ''Journal of the Native Orchid Society of South Australia'' but in 1987 raised the variety to species status. 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 ...

(''stricta'') is a Latin word meaning "draw together".

Distribution and habitat

The upright spider orchid occurs in the

Little Desert Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

and

Big Desert Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

areas of Victoria and in south-eastern areas of South Australia. It grows in mallee scrub and woodland.

Conservation

''Caladenia stricta'' is classified as "vulnerable" in Victoria under the

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=Q15287698 stricta Plants described in 1984 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Taxa named by Robert John Bates