Caladenia fragrans

Caladenia fragrans, commonly known as the fragrant china orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is similar to the other china orchids, especially C. ashbyae but has a paler green leaf, vanilla-scented flowers and a more northerly distribution.

Fragrant china orchid

Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Caladenia
Species:
C. fragrans
Binomial name
Caladenia fragrans
(Hopper & A.P.Br.) M.A.Clem.
Synonyms[1]

Cyanicula fragrans Hopper & A.P.Br.

Description

Caladenia fragrans is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It has a single prostrate leaf, 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long, 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) wide and which is pale green with bristly hairs. One or two bluish-mauve or blue flowers 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long and wide are borne on a stalk 60–120 mm (2–5 in) tall. On rare occasions the flower is white. The dorsal sepal is erect, 12–22 mm (0.5–0.9 in) long and 4–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide. The lateral sepals and petals have about the same dimensions as the dorsal sepal. The labellum is relatively flat, 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, bluish and white with the tip turned downwards. There are many rows of small, bead-like calli covering the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to September.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

The fragrant china orchid was first formally described in 2000 Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown from a specimen collected near Paynes Find and the description was published in Lindleyana.[5] In 2015, as a result of studies of molecular phylogenetics Mark Clements changed the name to Caladenia fragrans.[1][6] The specific epithet (fragrans) is a Latin word meaning "smelling agreeably"[7] referring to the rich fragrance of the flowers.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The fragrant china orchid is found between Beacon and Mullewa in the Avon Wheatbelt, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions growing on and near low granite outcrops.[2][3][4][8]

Conservation

Caladenia fragrans is classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[8] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[9]

References
  1. "Caladenia fragrans". APNI. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 29. ISBN 1877069124.
  3. Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780980296457.
  4. Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 200. ISBN 9780646562322.
  5. "Cyanicula fragrans". APNI. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  6. Clements, Mark A.; Howard, Christopher G.; Miller, Joseph T. (13 April 2015). "Caladenia revisited: Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses of Caladeniinae plastid and nuclear loci". American Journal of Botany. 102 (4): 581–597. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500021. PMID 25878091.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 352.
  8. "Cyanicula fragrans". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  9. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
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