Thick-Lip Spider-Orchid
Caladenia tessellata
Family Orchidaceae
About
Caladenia tessellata, commonly known as the thick-lip spider-orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two yellowish-green flowers with dark red markings.
How to spot it
Caladenia tessellata is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single, sparsely hairy, linear to lance-shaped leaf, 50–100 mm long and 4–9 mm wide. Up to three yellowish-green flowers with dark red marks are borne on a thin, wiry stalk 20–150 mm tall. The sepals and petals taper to fine, short, thread-like tips. The dorsal sepal is erect at its base, then curves forward and is 15–25 mm long and 2–3 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 15–25 mm long and 3–5 mm wide,
Documented on these trails
Found in
- Cape Conran Coastal Park — Gippsland & Alpine Victoria hikes