Caladenia carnea R.Br.

Pink fingers orchid (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Caladenia

Characteristics

Plant at fl. c. 5–20–(30) cm. tall. Stem erect, slender, ± pilose below, glandular-pubescent above. Green lf solitary, narrow-linear, us. shorter than peduncle, sparsely clad in both short glandular and longer non-glandular hairs. Floral bracts 1–5, lower 1–2 often empty. Fls 1–3–(5) in lax raceme, ovary us. > bract. Per. (in N.Z.) c. 1–2 cm. diam., white, greenish, pink or darker green and red, glandular-hairy externally. Sepals narrow-lanceolate and acute; dorsal ± erect; lateral spreading or deflexed. Petals similar to lateral sepals. Labellum 3-lobed; mid-lobe narrowly triangular, recurved, mostly with marginal calli; lateral lobes broad, transversely barred with red; calli in 2 ± regular rows on disc. Column ± erect, often transversely barred with red; wings narrow below, widest about level of stigma.
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Leaf 90–150 × 3–4 mm. Flower stem 120–250 mm tall, thick, 1–5-flowered (usually 1–3). Flowers 18–16 × 20–30 mm, white, pale pink or bright pink; externally greenish to brownish pink, sometimes with a darker band; labellum white to pink with red bars; midlobe cream to pale yellow; calli cream to yellow; column green with red bars. Dorsal sepal 11–15 × 3–4 mm, erect. Lateral sepals 13–17 × 3.5–4 mm. Petals 10–13 × 3–3.5 mm. Labellum 5.5–7 × 5.5–7 mm; lateral lobes entire; midlobe recurved with 4–12 short marginal teeth. Calli in 2–4 rows to base of midlobe. Column 7–8 × 3.5–4 mm, broadly winged.
A small orchid. They grow in the ground. They have underground tubers. It grows 12-25 cm tall and 1.5 mm thick. It has a single hairy leaf. The leaf is narrow and 9-15 cm long by 3-4 mm wide. Leaves are slightly hairy. The flowers are one to two colourful flowers. The flower stalk is 30 cm long. Each flower is about 3-5 cm across. Flowers can be white or pink but with red bars on the upper lip.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.12 - 0.25
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
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Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A widely distributed and common species that ranges from coastal lowlands to montane areas and extends a fair distance inland; growing in a wide range of habitats including heath, heathy forest, open forest, woodland and mallee vegetation in a range of well-drained soil types.
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It is a temperate plant. It grows in open forests at low to moderate altitudes with a distinct dry season. It also grows in heathland. It grows best in light to medium well-drained soils. It needs a protected partly shaded position. It is damaged by drought and frost.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 7-12

Usage

The tubers can be eaten raw.
Uses -
Edible flowers roots tubers
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from tubers. They require a soil mix with leaf litter from Eucalyptus species and coarse sand. They can also be grown from seed.
Mode seedlings tubers
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Caladenia carnea unspecified picture

Distribution

Caladenia carnea world distribution map, present in Australia and New Zealand

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:620629-1
WFO ID wfo-0000721414
COL ID PBQY
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 830125
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Petalochilus carneus Caladenia atkinsonii Caladenia carnea Caladenia catenata f. carnea Caladenia angustata Caladenia carnea var. subulata