Caladenia bryceana is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dwarf spider orchid with a single spreading, hairy leaf and a single green to apricot-coloured flower. There are two subspecies differing in the features of the labellum.
| Caladenia bryceana | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Stirling Range National Park | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Caladenia |
| Species: | C. bryceana
|
| Binomial name | |
| Caladenia bryceana | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Description
editCaladenia bryceana is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single hairy leaf 40–80 mm (1.6–3.1 in) long and 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) wide. Usually, there is only a single pale green to apricot-coloured flower. The dorsal sepal is erect to slightly curved forwards 8–22 mm (0.31–0.87 in) long and 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) wide, the lateral sepals broadly crescent-moon shaped, 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) wide, and the petals linear, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long and 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long. The labellum is two-tone green and ends in a dark maroon tip, with a dense band of tall calli along the centre of the labellum but ending short of the maroon tip. Flowering occurs from August to October.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
editCaladenia bryceana was first formally described by Richard Rogers in 1914 from a specimen collected near Gnowangerup. The description was published in Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia).[3][4] The specific epithet (bryceana) honours Frances Bryce MacIntyre.[5]
In 2001, Noel Hoffman and Andrew Brown described two subspecies of C. bryceana in the journal Nuytsia, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
- Caladenia bryceana R.S.Rogers subsp. bryceana[6] - dwarf spider orchid, has its labellum calli in a continuous band.[2]
- Caladenia bryceana subsp. cracens Hopper & A.P.Br.[7] - northern dwarf spider orchid, has it calli with a gap, usually in the middle of the band.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editThis spider orchid grows along watercourses and in winter-west place in two widely disjunct populations in the Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Caladenia bryceana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Hopper, Stephen D.; Brown, Andrew P. (2001). "Contributions to Western Australian orchidology: 2. New taxa and circumscriptions in Caladenia". Nuytsia. 14 (1/2): 196–199. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "Caladenia bryceana". APNI. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Richard Sanders (1914). "Notes on the orchids of Kangaroo Island together with a description of two new species". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. 38: 359–360. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ "Caladenia bryceana subsp. bryceana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "Caladenia bryceana subsp. cracens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "Caladenia bryceana". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.