Caladenia xanthochila

Description

Caladenia xanthochila, commonly known as the yellow-lip spider orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern Australia. It is a rare ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale greenish-yellow flower. Only a few plants are known from Victoria and South Australia.Caladenia xanthochila is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single leaf, 80–170 mm (3–7 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. One, rarely two flowers 30–50 mm (1–2 in) wide are borne on a hairy spike 250–320 mm (9.8–13 in) high. The sepals have red, club-like glandular tips 3–9 mm (0.1–0.4 in). The dorsal sepal is erect, 30–50 mm (1–2 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide. The lateral sepals have similar dimensions to the dorsal sepal, spread apart from each other and curve downwards. The petals are 20–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long, about 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide and arranged like the lateral sepals. The labellum is greenish-yellow, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long, 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide with yellow or red, club-shaped teeth up to about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long on the sides but decreasing in length towards the tip. The tip of the labellum is curled under and there are four or six rows of calli up to 1 mm long, along its mid-line. Flowering occurs from August to September.