Guide to Native Orchids of Victoria

By Gary N. Backhouse

This comprehensive guide describes the 447 species of wild orchids that occur in Victoria, Australia. This region is one of the richest in the world for its diversity of temperate terrestrial orchids. Orchid diversity in Victoria spans some of the smallest to some of the largest orchids in Australia, from the minute Mallacoota Midge Orchid, with flowers just 2 mm across, to the large King Orchid, with big plants having hundreds of fragrant flowers and weighing many kilograms.

Guide to Native Orchids of Victoria includes brief descriptions on all species, enabling their identification in the field. With more than 460 photographs of wild orchids in their natural habitat and distribution maps for almost all species, this guide will delight and inspire anyone interested in orchids.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781486316878

Gary N. Backhouse

Gary N. Backhouse worked in biodiversity conservation with the Victorian Government until his retirement in 2012. He has travelled to most of the major centres for orchid diversity around the world and has photographed over 5000 species of orchids in the wild. Gary is author or co-author of three books on native orchids of Victoria, a book on Caladenia orchids of Australia, and Guide to Native Orchids of NSW and ACT (CSIRO Publishing, 2022).

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Diversity, biology and ecology

The State of Victoria lies in the south-east corner of the Australian mainland and covers an area of about 227 000 km², which is just 3% of the area of Australia. Within this small land area, Victoria has a wider range of broad ecosystem types than any area of comparable size in Australia. This habitat diversity is also reflected in the orchid flora, with at least 447 species in 29 genera occurring in Victoria. This comprises ~22% of Australia’s estimated 2000 species of wild orchids, and makes Victoria one of the richest areas in the world for its diversity of temperate terrestrial orchids. This number includes 381 formally named species and 66 unnamed species. However, 323 species (72% of Victoria’s orchids) occur in just four genera: Pterostylis with 102 species, Caladenia with 100 species, Prasophyllum with 76 species and Thelymitra with 45 species. About 190 species (43%) of Victoria’s orchids are endemic or near-endemic to Victoria. The native orchids of Victoria can be divided into two broad groups. The vast majority (442 species) are seasonal, deciduous (or leafless) geophytes that are rooted in the ground (also called terrestrial orchids) and have a dormant phase during part of the year. The remaining five species are evergreen epiphytes (growing on trees) or lithophytes (growing on rocks).

All orchids have a complex relationship with mycorrhizal fungi that they require for seed germination and sometimes for active growth. Several genera of terrestrial orchids, including Burnettia, Dipodium, Gastrodia and Thynninorchis, are leafless throughout their growth cycle, lack chlorophyll and are completely dependent on a relationship with an underground mycorrhizal fungus that they parasitise for all their nutrients. Although sometimes referred to as being saprophytes, these orchids are correctly termed myco-heterotrophs. Most terrestrial orchids have one to many basal leaves that are shed seasonally. The evergreen epiphytic and lithophytic orchids have leaves throughout their growth cycle, with older leaves periodically shed as new leaves develop.

The form of Victoria’s orchids is extremely varied, with plants ranging in size from a few centimetres to well over a metre in height, and flower size ranging from just 2 mm across to several with petals and sepals to 10 cm or more in length, amongst the largest of any flowering plant in Australia. Flowers can be resupinate, in which the dorsal sepal is above the column and labellum, or inverted, in which the dorsal sepal is below the column and labellum. The labellum (a highly modified third petal) can vary from small, simple and rounded to relatively large, distinctly lobed and complex, and is adorned with calli and sometimes marginal teeth. Leaf and flower form specific to each genus are further detailed in the text for that genus. Some species have just a single flower, while others have an inflorescence bearing up to 100 flowers. Most deciduous terrestrial orchids grow annually from a subterranean tuber. In some genera such as Acianthus, Chiloglottis, Corybas and Pterostylis, plants can produce multiple tubers and can form large colonies of genetically identical plants.

Victoria has what is generally described as a ‘Mediterranean’ climate, with a cool, wet winter and spring followed by a hot, dry summer. The typical life cycle for many of Victoria’s terrestrial orchids is for plants to spend the summer months as dormant tubers beneath the ground. Growth is initiated by the onset of late summer/autumn rains, and the first orchids appearing for the season will flower several weeks later. In the lowlands, most species flower from March to November, with a peak in September and October, although a few species (e.g. in Cryptostylis, Dipodium, Spiranthes) naturally flower over summer. Orchids growing in the mountains of eastern Victoria have a winter dormancy period (when the ground is often frozen and may be covered with ice and snow) and flower from November to April, with a peak in mid-summer. Most orchids occur in areas with regular seasonal rainfall. In the dry north-west, some orchids survive in hot, semi-arid environments, but may only flower every few years when above-average autumn and winter rainfall occurs. The five evergreen epiphytic and lithophytic orchids mostly occur in humid or sheltered sites, grow throughout the year (depending on climatic conditions) and flower in spring.

All of Victoria’s orchids reproduce largely or entirely by seed, although a few can also reproduce vegetatively as well as by seed, and some can form large, dense colonies through vegetative reproduction. Orchids exhibit a range of pollination strategies. A few orchids, including several of the small-flowered Caladenia, some species and forms in Calochilus, several Corunastylis, Orthoceras strictum, most Microtis, several Prasophyllum, a few Pterostylis and many Thelymitra species, appear to rely primarily on self-pollination to set seed. Some species are self-pollinating, and these usually have short-lived and poorly opening flowers. In extreme cases such as Caladenia cleistantha, flowers rarely if ever open. For the majority of orchids, insects are the main pollinators and are attracted to the orchids by the presence (or apparent presence) of a food source such as nectar or pollen, or are attracted by deceptive scents that suggest a mate may be present or that the orchid might be a good site on which to lay eggs.

A few orchids, including species of Acianthus, Cyrtostylis, Prasophyllum and Sarcochilus, produce nectar, sometimes enhanced by a pleasant floral scent, to entice pollinators, and attract a range of potential pollinators. The majority of Victoria’s orchids do not have any food reward and rely on deception through mimicry to entice potential pollinators to visit a flower, mainly by two different strategies: food deception and sexual deception. Food deception pollination mostly occurs through the orchids mimicking other nectar- or pollen-bearing wildflowers and is prevalent in orchids such as Diuris and Thelymitra. Orchids pollinated by food deception probably attract a range of potential insect pollinators, especially native bees, wasps and hoverflies. A highly specialised case of food deception occurs where the scent and/or appearance of an orchid mimics a fungus or decaying plant tissue and attracts small flies looking for egg-laying sites on a food source for their larvae. Species of Corybas and some Pterostylis are thought to be pollinated in this way.

Sexual deception in orchids occurs when an orchid mimics the scent and appearance of a female insect, to which the male insect is attracted and, while attempting to copulate with the labellum (a process called pseudocopulation), effects pollination. In most cases of sexual deception in Australian orchids determined so far, especially in Caladenia and Chiloglottis, the pollinators are male thynnine wasps. Male scollid wasps are pollinators of Calochilus, male sawflies pollinate Caleana major, male ants are pollinators of Leporella fimbriata and male fungus gnats are thought to be pollinators of Pterostylis species with deflexed lateral sepals and an exposed labellum. The pollinators are initially attracted to the flowers through the release of a floral scent mimicking the sex pheromone of the female insect. Once the male insect gets within visual range of the flower, the attraction is further enhanced by mechanisms such the resemblance of the labellum to a female (e.g. the small-flowered Chiloglottis, Cryptostylis and some Pterostylis), the labellum calli mimicking the ‘feel’ of a female wasp once the male alights on it (e.g. the larger flowered Chiloglottis and some spider orchid Caladenia) and through strongly contrasting flower colours, such as in some spider orchid Caladenia that have pale petals and sepals and a dark labellum. From extensive research on pollinators of Australian orchids, it seems that many Chiloglottis and Caladenia species pollinated by sexual deception are typically pollinated by a single species of thynnine wasp.

Species profiles

Genus Acianthus

Mosquito orchids, mayfly orchids

A genus of ~15 species occurring in e Australia and New Zealand, with five species occurring in Vic. Terrestrial deciduous orchids with a single, basal, heart-shaped or angular, dark green leaf on a short stem. Flowers 2–14, generally small, greenish to brownish. Dorsal sepal ovate, lateral sepals and petals usually short and mostly slender, rarely long and very slender. Labellum tiny, triangular, with short, raised side lobes and a smooth to warty surface. Acianthus species usually grow in moist, sheltered sites and can multiply vegetatively, sometimes forming large colonies, although often with only a small proportion of plants flowering. Pollination is by tiny flies attracted to flowers by scent and nectar.

Acianthus pusillus

SMALL MOSQUITO ORCHID

Description: Plant to 20 cm tall, dorsal sepal to 8 mm long. Flowers 2–12, tiny, light to dark brown (rarely greenish) with fine purplish stripes. Dorsal sepal narrowly ovate with a short, fine tip and obliquely erect, lateral sepals slender, parallel to narrowly spreading with long outcurved tips, petals short, narrowly triangular and backswept. Labellum mostly smooth with a warty apex. Flowers April–September. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across Vic., extending from coast to ranges and inland plains. Altitude: 0–600 m. Grows in a variety of habitats including coastal scrub, heathy woodland and open forest, in moist, shady situations under shrubs, often with a thick leaf litter layer. Also occurs in NSW, Qld, SA, Tas. Notes: Widespread and often common. Can form extensive colonies containing many hundreds to thousands of plants, with leaves often carpeting ground. Similar to A. exsertus, which is more robust with larger, darker, more widely spaced, more widely opening flowers with labellum often appearing bicoloured, with a greenish base and dark brown apex. However, large plants of A. pusillus can be difficult to tell apart from small plants of A. exsertus.

Acianthus pusillus

Acianthus exsertus

LARGE MOSQUITO ORCHID

Description: Plant to 30 cm tall, dorsal sepal to 10 mm long. Flowers 3–14, very small, widely spaced, light to dark greenish-brown with fine purplish stripes and a darker green and brown labellum. Dorsal sepal ovate with a short, fine tip and obliquely erect to erect, lateral sepals slender, parallel to narrowly spreading with short, thick, outcurved tips, petals short, narrowly triangular and backswept. Labellum mostly smooth with a warty apex. Flowers March–July. Distribution & Habitat: Eastern Vic., extending from coast to mountains and inland slopes. Altitude: 5–1300 m. Grows in open forest and woodland. Also occurs in ACT, NSW, Qld. Notes: Widespread and common on coastal and hinterland ranges, uncommon on inland slopes. Can form extensive colonies with leaves carpeting ground. Similar to A. pusillus, which has smaller, paler, more crowded flowers with a narrower, more uniformly coloured labellum. However, small plants of A. exsertus can be difficult to distinguish from A. pusillus, but where both species grow together, A. exsertus is noticeably larger and more robust than A. pusillus.

Acianthus exsertus

Acianthus collinus

INLAND MOSQUITO ORCHID

Description: Plant to 10 cm tall, dorsal sepal to 8 mm long. Flowers 2–9, very small, translucent brownish with fine purplish stripes and a darker brown labellum with a pale central stripe. Dorsal sepal ovate with a short, fine tip, incurved and hooding column, lateral sepals slender, with longish, fine, slightly outcurved tips, petals short, narrowly triangular and widely spreading. Labellum granular to warty, narrowly triangular with recurved margins. Flowers late June–August. Distribution & Habitat: North-eastern Vic. between Benalla and Chiltern. Altitude: 200–250 m. Grows in open forest with a sparse, shrubby and grassy understorey, usually on damp, sheltered sites with a deep leaf litter layer. Also occurs in ACT, NSW. Notes: First found in Vic. in 1999, and known from just four small populations at three locations. Community conservation volunteers have established another wild population from plants translocated from a population at Chiltern. Similar to A. fornicatus, which occurs on coast and is larger with a broader, more bristly labellum.

Acianthus collinus

Acianthus fornicatus

BRISTLY MOSQUITO ORCHID

Description: Plant to 25 cm tall, dorsal sepal to 12 mm long. Flowers 3–8, small, translucent greenish-brown with fine purplish stripes and mostly green labellum with a purplish margin. Dorsal sepal ovate with a long, fine point, incurved and hooding column, lateral sepals slender, with long, fine, slightly outcurved tips, petals short, narrowly triangular and partially hidden under dorsal sepal. Labellum very warty to bristly, broadly triangular with toothed, recurved margins. Flowers May–August. Distribution & Habitat: Known only from Gabo Island in far e Vic. Altitude: 30 m. Grows in moist, shady sites in coastal scrub on sandy soil. Also occurs in NSW, Qld. Notes: First discovered in Vic. in July 2017, when a small colony of plants was found on Gabo Island by Martin Hiley and Peter Mason. Species is common just over border in NSW. Largest mosquito orchid, and typically has greenish-brown flowers but occasionally has uniformly green flowers. Similar to A. collinus, which occurs well inland and is smaller with a narrower, less bristly labellum.

Acianthus fornicatus

Acianthus caudatus

MAYFLY ORCHID

Description: Plant to 25 cm tall, dorsal sepal to 40 mm long. Flowers 1–7, small, slender, glossy purplish-brown (rarely green). Sepals very long and slender, dorsal sepal erect, lateral sepals deflexed and spreading, petals short and downcurved. Labellum smooth with incurved margins. Flowers July–October. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across s lowland Vic. Altitude: 5–250 m. Grows in coastal scrub, heathy woodland and open forest in moist, shady situations under shrubs. Also occurs in NSW, Qld, SA, Tas. Notes: Easily recognised by long, very slender sepals that on freshly opened flowers are about vertical but arch more as flowers age. Locally common in suitable habitat, forming large, dense colonies containing hundreds of plants, with leaves sometimes overlapping. Flowers emit a musty odour on warm days.

Acianthus caudatus

Genus Burnettia

Lizard Orchid

A genus with just a single species that is endemic to se Australia. Small, leafless, seasonal ground orchid requiring summer fire to initiate flowering. Pollination mechanism and vector unknown.

Burnettia cuneata

LIZARD ORCHID

Description: Plant to 13 cm tall, fairly stout and fleshy, lacking leaves although with several short, sheathing stem bracts. Sepals and petals to 15 mm long. Flowers 1–7, externally creamy white to reddish with darker red stripes, internally white (rarely pinkish) with red stripes on labellum underside, labellum calli yellow. Sepals and petals short, oblong, dorsal sepal incurved over column, petals and lateral sepals cupped to spreading. Labellum short, curved, with a blunt, expanded mid-lobe and erect side lobes, lamina covered with numerous very short calli, although surface mostly hidden. Flowers August–November. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across s Vic., extending inland to Grampians. Altitude: 10–400 m. Grows on swamp margins and along seasonal watercourses under Scented Paperbark Melaleuca squarrosa, very rarely in adjoining moist open forest. Also occurs in NSW, Tas. Notes: Widely but sporadically distributed, localised and rare. A fire-following species that flowers only in season following summer bushfire, very rarely flowering in absence of fire. Flowers only expand fully on warm, humid days, remaining almost totally closed on cold, wet days. Flowers also short-lived, lasting only a few days before collapsing. Plants apparently spend years, possibly decades, beneath ground as dormant tubers between fire events, and are often submerged for several months over winter and spring.

Burnettia cuneata

Genus Caladenia

Finger orchids, cap orchids, wax-lip orchids, spider orchids

A large genus of over 350 species of orchids mostly endemic to Australia, with several species in New Zealand and a single widespread species extending to New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. At least 100 species occur in Vic., including 21 yet to be named and described. All are terrestrial deciduous orchids with a single, basal, short to long, ovate to lanceolate to very slender green leaf and 1–8 white to purple to crimson flowers with short and ovate to very long and slender, narrowly to widely spreading sepals and petals. Labellum usually tri-lobed, with multiple rows of small calli and smooth to toothed margins. Pollination is by flies, bees and wasps through food deception and by male thynnine wasps through sexual deception, with several species primarily self-pollinating. Caladenia orchids exhibit several different flower forms that have been proposed as separate genera or subgenera, and can be readily divided into four distinct groups in Vic.

Finger orchids

Plants have a slender basal leaf and 1–5 tiny to small white to pink to blue flowers with prominent pink to maroon bars on labellum and yellow to orange tips on calli, teeth and apex. Sepals and petals usually short and broad, dorsal sepal erect to incurved, petals and lateral sepals narrowly spreading and pointing more or less forwards. Labellum distinctly tri-lobed, with erect and rounded side lobes, a small downcurved mid-lobe with several pairs of tiny teeth or irregular serrations, and two rows of lamina calli. At least 15 species occur in Vic., including at least two yet to be named and described. Species sometimes placed in alternative genus Petalochilus.

Caladenia cleistantha

CLOSED FINGERS

Description: Plant to 12 cm tall, sepals and petals to 10 mm long. Flower single, very small, greenish to pinkish, remaining closed in bud form, with very thin petals and sepals and a labellum mid-lobe that lacks marginal teeth. Flowers September–October. Distribution & Habitat: Southern Vic., usually on or near coast. Altitude: 5–50 m. Grows in coastal heathy woodland and open forest, rarely in moss mats on rock outcrops and fallen timber. Also occurs in NSW, SA. Notes: A bizarre self-pollinating orchid that only rarely opens, usually remaining closed with ovary already swelling as bud becomes fully developed. Petals and sepals are very thin like tissue paper and usually tear when a flower is opened by hand to check if labellum mid-lobe lacks marginal teeth, an important diagnostic feature. Very rare, with only a few confirmed records for Vic. Virtually indistinguishable from most other finger Caladenia species in bud, and probably more common but overlooked.

Caladenia cleistantha Andrew Dilley

Caladenia vulgaris

SLENDER FINGERS

Description: Plant to 30 cm tall, sepals and petals to 12 mm long. Flowers 1–2, small, pink to white with broad sepals and petals with bluntly pointed tips. Dorsal sepal incurved to erect, lateral sepals and petals generally not overlapping. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with bluntly rounded to straight front margins, and a broad mid-lobe with several pairs of short teeth, sometimes with irregular serrations. Flowers October–November. Distribution & Habitat: Widely distributed across Vic., extending from coast to mountains. Altitude: 5–850 m. Grows in a variety of habitats including coastal scrub, heath, woodland and open forest. Also occurs in NSW, SA, Tas. Notes: Widespread but rather sporadically distributed, although sometimes locally common. Undoubtedly overlooked or mistaken for other small finger Caladenia species. Best recognised by its relatively late flowering period, usually flowering after other finger Caladenia species with which it grows have finished, and broad labellum mid-lobe.

Caladenia vulgaris

Caladenia mentiens

CRYPTIC FINGERS

Description: Plant to 18 cm tall, sepals and petals to 9 mm long. Flower single, tiny, white to deep pink, with broad, bluntly pointed sepals and petals. Dorsal sepal erect to incurved, lateral sepals and petals sometimes overlapping, and lateral sepals sometimes joined along inner margins at base. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with bluntly rounded to straight front margins, and a narrow mid-lobe with very short teeth or irregular serrations. Flowers September–November. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across s Vic., extending from coast to foothills of ranges. Altitude: 5–400 m. Grows in a variety of habitats including coastal heath, heathy and shrubby woodland and open forest, often in open, sandy or gravelly areas. Also occurs in ACT, NSW, SA, Tas. Notes: Locally common but undoubtedly overlooked due to its tiny size, short-lived flowers and often dense habitat. Self-pollinating, with flowers opening only for a day or two, and sometimes remaining closed in cold, wet weather. Very similar to C. pusilla, which is shorter with a thicker stem and usually incurved dorsal sepal.

Caladenia mentiens

Caladenia pusilla

TINY FINGERS

Description: Plant to 10 cm tall, sepals and petals to 7 mm long. Flower single, tiny, pink to white, with broad sepals and petals with bluntly pointed to rounded tips. Dorsal sepal strongly incurved, lateral sepals and petals not overlapping, and lateral sepals sometimes joined along inner margins at base. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with bluntly rounded to straight front margins, and a narrow mid-lobe usually with irregular serrations, sometimes with a few very short teeth. Flowers September–November. Distribution & Habitat: Widely distributed across Vic., extending from coast to inland plains. Altitude: 5–300 m. Grows in a variety of habitats from wet coastal heath to dry inland woodland. Also occurs in NSW, SA, Tas. Notes: Locally common but often overlooked due to its tiny size. Best recognised by short, thick stem, petals and sepals with rounded rather than pointed tips and often partially joined lateral sepals. Frequently confused with C. mentiens, which is taller with a thinner stem, more upright dorsal sepal and more pointed sepals and petals.

Caladenia pusilla

Caladenia species ‘cupped flowers’

CUPPED FINGERS

Description: Plant to 12 cm tall, sepals and petals to 7 mm long. Flowers 1–3, tiny, pink to white, with broad, concave sepals and petals with bluntly pointed tips. Dorsal sepal strongly incurved, lateral sepals and petals usually overlapping. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, narrow side lobes with rounded front margins, and a short, narrow mid-lobe usually with irregular serrations, sometimes with a few very short teeth. Flowers September. Distribution & Habitat: Known from a single locality near Kaniva in w Vic. Altitude: 175 m. Grows in shrubby woodland. Notes: A distinctive little orchid discovered in 2006 and still unnamed. Extremely rare, known from about 30 plants growing in a tiny patch of remnant habitat on a roadside. Easily recognised by multiple flowers with broad, cupped petals and sepals. Similar to C. mentiens and C. pusilla, both of which have a single flower with flatter petals and sepals.

Caladenia species ‘cupped flowers’

Caladenia prolata

FERTILE FINGERS

Description: Plant to 30 cm tall, sepals and petals to 15 mm long. Flower single, small, dull white, with a very long ovary and narrow sepals and petals with pointed tips. Dorsal sepal usually incurved, lateral sepals sometimes partially overlapping, petals spreading to incurved. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with fairly straight front margins, and a fairly broad mid-lobe with several pairs of short teeth, often reduced to irregular serrations. Flowers September–October. Distribution & Habitat: South-western Vic. between Portland and Horsham. Altitude: 50–125 m. Grows among Tufted Grass-trees Xanthorrhoea caespitosa in heathy woodland. Also occurs in SA, Tas. Notes: Poorly known and uncommon, although probably overlooked. Grows almost invariably very close to Tufted Grass-trees, often growing up through leaf skirt, which aids identification. Tall scape and small, dull white flower with a very long ovary also diagnostic. Similar in appearance to white forms of C. carnea, which has larger flowers with an erect dorsal sepal and a shorter ovary.

Caladenia prolata

Caladenia fuscata

DUSKY FINGERS

Description: Plant to 15 cm tall, sepals and petals to 12 mm long. Flower single, small, dull white to deep pink with short, broad, bluntly pointed sepals and petals. Dorsal sepal usually erect, lateral sepals and petals not overlapping. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with strongly curved or angular front margins projecting well forwards, and a narrowish, sharply recurved mid-lobe with 2–6 pairs of short teeth reducing to irregular serrations. Flowers August–October. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across Vic., extending from coast to ranges and inland plains. Altitude: 10–500 m. Grows in a variety of habitats, especially drier open forest and woodland, less commonly in moist coastal and foothill forests and woodlands. Also occurs in ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas. Notes: Very widely distributed and common throughout much of its range. Flowers prolifically in years of good winter rainfall, although flowering is greatly curtailed in dry years. Buds are distinctly striped. Often grows with and most likely to be confused with C. carnea, which has larger flowers with short, rounded front margins on labellum side lobes and usually flowers two or three weeks later than C. fuscata.

Caladenia fuscata

Caladenia carnea

PINK FINGERS

Description: Plant to 25 cm tall, sepals and petals 8–15 mm long. Flowers 1–5, smallish, white to deep pink with short to long, narrow to broad sepals and petals. Dorsal sepal erect to incurved, lateral sepals and petals usually not overlapping. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with bluntly rounded to straight front margins, and a narrow to broad mid-lobe with 2–6 pairs of short, slender to broad irregular teeth, sometimes reducing to irregular serrations. Flowers August–November. Distribution & Habitat: Widespread across Vic., extending from coast to mountains and inland plains. Altitude: 5–1200 m. Grows in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal scrubs to semi-desert mallee woodland to damp open forest. Also occurs in ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas., Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, possibly New Zealand. Notes: Widespread and often common. Variable in leaf character, flower size and colour, labellum barring, sepal and petal shape, habitat preferences and flowering time, and possibly comprises a taxonomically difficult species complex with several undescribed taxa. Often grows with C. fuscata, which has a single, smaller flower with projecting front margins on labellum side lobes, and flowers two or three weeks earlier than C. carnea. Similar to C. ornata, which has crimson labellum side lobes, and to C. species ‘large scented flowers’, which has larger, highly fragrant flowers.

Caladenia carnea

Caladenia species ‘large scented flowers’

SCENTED FINGERS

Description: Plant to 25 cm tall, sepals and petals to 20 mm long. Flowers 1–3, relatively large, white to pale pink with strong crimson barring on labellum and with long, broad sepals and petals. Dorsal sepal erect to incurved, lateral sepals and petals usually not overlapping. Labellum with straight, clubbed calli, broad side lobes with bluntly rounded to straight front margins, and a fairly broad mid-lobe with 2–6 pairs of short, slender teeth, sometimes reducing to irregular serrations. Flowers September–October. Distribution & Habitat: Western Vic. between Ararat and St Arnaud. Altitude: 250–375 m. Grows in open shrubby and grassy woodland. Notes: Localised and fairly rare, although undoubtedly overlooked or mistaken for C. carnea. Fairly readily identified by relatively large, pale flowers with a strongly marked labellum. Also has a strong fragrance that is most noticeable on warm, humid, still days. Similar to C. carnea, which has smaller, usually unscented or faintly scented flowers.

Caladenia species ‘large scented flowers’

Caladenia ornata

ORNATE FINGERS

Description: