''Caladenia concolor'', commonly known as the crimson spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the south-east of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is a ground orchid with a single, sparsely hairy leaf, and one or two hairy, dark purplish-red flowers.

Description

''Caladenia concolor'' is a terrestrial,

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

with an underground tuber. It has a single, sparsely hairy, narrow lance-shaped leaf up to long and wide. One or two flowers wide are borne on a spike up to tall. The sepals and petals are dark purplish-red to crimson, long and wide at the base and taper to a long, thin, drooping "tail". The petals are similar to the sepals except that they are shorter. The tail is densely covered with

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also funct ...

. The labellum is egg-shaped, long and wide, dark purplish-red and curves downwards at the tip. Its sides turn upwards and are fringed with teeth up to long and there are four crowded rows of foot-shaped calli along its centre line. Flowering occurs from September to November and the flowers are reported to "smell like a hot motor" or to have a "distinctly mandarin-flavoured smell".

Taxonomy and naming

''Caladenia concolor'' was first formally described in 1928 by Robert D. FitzGerald from a specimen collected "from the granite hills near

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

". The description was published in Fitzgerald's book '' Australian Orchids'' and the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''concolor'') is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word meaning "uniformly coloured". Two forms of the crimson spider orchid, currently known as Bethungra spider orchid and Burrinjuck spider orchid are expected to be described as new species.

Distribution and habitat

''Caladenia concolor'' grows on granite ridges and slopes with dry open forest in northern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. It is known from two locations in Victoria near

Beechworth Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

and Chiltern. In New South Wales there are three populations, on private property near Bethungra, in the Burrinjuck Nature Reserve and in the Nail Can Hill Reserve near Albury. The first two of these New South Wales populations may be described in the future as new species.

Conservation

Crimson spider orchid is listed as "Endangered" under the New South Wales ''

Threatened Species Conservation Act A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensation ...

'' 1995 and as "Vulnerable" under the ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

''. None of the populations includes more than a few hundred individual plants. The main threats to its survival are habitat loss, weed invasion and grazing by livestock and

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

. Seeds of the species have been successfully germinated with the associated

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

with plans to introduce cultivated plants into the wild.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9673465 concolor Plants described in 1882 Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Victoria (state)