''Caladenia testacea'', commonly known as honey caps, or honey caladenia is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a ground orchid with a single, sparsely hairy leaf and up to three white to yellowish-green flowers with brownish tips and a darker back.

Description

''Caladenia testacea'' 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 a single, sparsely hairy leaf, 50–200 mm long and 2.5–8 mm wide. Up to three white to yellowish-green flowers 100–150 mm long and 140–170 mm wide are borne on a spike 80–200 mm tall. 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 have brownish tips and are darker on their backs. The dorsal sepal 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 is 8–10 mm long and about 3 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 10–12 mm long, about 3 mm wide and spread away from each other. The petals are 8–11 mm long, about 2 mm wide and spread nearly horizontally. The labellum is white, 5–6 mm long and about 4 mm wide. The sides of the labellum turn upwards and have short club-shaped teeth with yellow or purple heads and there are four crowded rows of dark dark purple, club-shaped calli along the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from October to November and in some areas, the flowers have a sweet honey scent.

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia testacea'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in '' Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae''. 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 ...

(''testacea'') is a Latin word meaning "with a shell".

Distribution and habitat

Honey caps is found in coastal areas of New South Wales south from Newcastle and on the central highlands, growing in heath, woodland and forest. Flowering is stimulated by summer fires and by light clearing.

References

External links

The Nature of Robertson - ''Stegostyla testacea''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15287655

testacea Testacea may refer to: * a former order of rhizopods, which consisted of testate amoeboid organisms. * a former group of shelled molluscs and other invertebrates, created by Linnaeus and roughly corresponding to the colloquial term '' seashell'' ...

Plants described in 1810 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)