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Manual of the New Zealand Flora.
16. Caladenia, R. Br
16. Caladenia, R. Br.
Slender terrestrial herbs, usually more or less pilose or villous, rarely glabrous. Root of small rounded tubers terminating fleshy fibres. Leaf solitary from near the base of the stem, linear or lanceolate, more rarely broader and oblong-lanceolate or oblong. Flowers on an erect slender scape, solitary or in few-flowered racemes; bracts small. Upper sepal erect or incurved, narrow, concave; lateral flat, spreading, or rarely all alike and spreading. Petals narrow, erect or spreading. Lip clawed on to the base of the column, undivided or 3-lobed, the lateral lobes when present erect, the middle lobe spreading or reflexed, the margins often toothed or fimbriate, the disc usually studded with linear or clavate sessile or stipitate calli. Column rather long, erect or incurved, more or less 2-winged above; stigma broad, prominent. Anther erect, terminal, 2-celled; pollinia granular.
page 688About 30 species are known, all confined to Australia except the three following, which are endemic in New Zealand.
Slender. Leaf solitary, linear, 1/16–⅛ in. broad. Scape slender. Flower ¼–⅓ in. diam. Lip 3-lobed 1. C. minor. Rather stout. Leaf solitary, linear,⅛–¼ in. broad. Scape stout. Flower ½–1 in. diam. Lip 3-lobed 2. C. Lyallii. Rather stout. Leaves 2, oblong or lanceolate. Flower ¾ in. diam. Lip undivided 3. C. bifolia.
| 1. | C. minor, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 247, t. 56B.—Stems very slender, 3–10 in. high, rarely more, glandular-pilose with spreading hairs. Leaf from near the base of the stem and always shorter than it, 1–8 in. long, 1/16–⅛ in. broad, very narrow-linear, flat, striate, ciliate or pilose. Flower solitary or rarely 2, pink, about ⅓ in. diam. Sepals subequal, linear or linear-oblong, obtuse or subacute; upper sepal erect; lateral spreading or deflexed. Petals similar to the sepals, spreading. Lip shorter than the sepals, broad, 3-lobed; lateral lobes large, oblong, obtuse, erect, usually marked with transverse purplish bands; middle lobl anceolate-deltoid, acuminate, reflexed, margins fringed with linear calli; disc with 2 continuous rows of bright-yellow stipitate calli. Column elongate, as long as the lip, incurved, broadly winged. Anther apiculate.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 267. C. variegata, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xvii. (1885) 248.
Var. exigua.—Stem shorter and still more slender, almost filiform, 2–4 in. high. Sepals and petals lanceolate, acuminate. Middle lobe of lip with a single marginal gland on each side; disc with 2 rows of calli as in the type. Perhaps a distinct species. North and South Islands: From the North Cape to Otago, not uncommon. Sea-level to 2000 ft. September - December. Var. exigua: Kaitaia (Mongonui County), R. H. Matthews! |
| 2. | C. Lyallii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 247. —Rather stout, 4–12 in. high, pilose with long soft hairs. Leaf from near the base of the stem and much shorter than it,⅛–¼ in. broad, narrow-linear, rather thick, channelled, sparingly pilose on the margins and undersurface. Scape stout, with a sheathing bract about the middle, 1–2-flowered. Flower large, ½–1 in. diam. Upper sepal ⅓–½ in. long, obovate-oblong, erect or incurved, concave; lateral elliptic-oblong. Petals similar to the lateral sepals. Lip about half as long as the lateral sepals, 3-lobed; lateral lobes broad, jagged at the tip, often banded with purple; middle lobe small, recurved; disc with 4 rows of stipitate calli. Column rather long, broadly winged, incurved; anther shortly apiculate.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 267.
South Island, Stewart Island, Auckland Islands.—Not uncommon in subalpine localities. Usually from 2500 ft. to 5000 ft., but descends to sea-level in the Auckland Islands. December–January. A handsome little plant, much more robust than C. minor, and with much larger flowers. page 689 |
| 3. | C. bifolia, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 247.—Stout or slender, glandular-pubescent, 3–9 in. high. Leaves two together towards the base of the stern, spreading, 1–2½ in. long, variable in shape, one usually much broader than the other, ovate or oblong to ovatelanceolate or lanceolate, acute, sparingly glandular - pubescent, margins ciliate. Scape 1-flowered, with a sheathing bract a little distance below the flower. Flower white with a tinge of pink, nearly 1 in. diam. when fully expanded. Upper sepal narrowoblong, obtuse, erect, concave; lateral spreading, linear-lanceolate. Petals shorter and narrower. Lip sessile by a narrow base, spreading, orbicular-obovate, rounded at the tip, undivided, margin entire; disc with two almost continuous lines of yellow calli extending from the middle to the base. Column elongate, incurved, 2-winged, wings not produced behind the anther.—Hook. f. Handb. N.Z. Fl. 267. C. macrophylla, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvii. (1895) 396. Chiloglottis Traversii, F. Muell. Veg. Chath. Is. 51.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands: Not uncommon in upland districts from Lake Taupo and Mount Egmont southwards. Ascends to 4500 ft., descends to sea-level in the extreme south and in the outlying islands. December–January. A curious plant, the genus of which is doubtful. It was referred to Chiloglottis by Mueller, and certainly is allied to it in habit, but it wants the essential character of the wings of the column produced into 2 lobes behind the anther. On the whole I think it is best retained in Caladenia. |