Caladenia vulgata, polychroma, postea
The filamentosa/wispy spider orchid group
Back to Caladenia
Some years ago, the name Caladenia filamentosa was
applied to all the wispy spider orchids. As there were many variations, many
of which formed stable populations, the species has been divided into many
separate species, some of which are very similar in appearance. This makes
identification quite difficult. Differences include flower size, flowering
time, range of distribution, size of the labellum and colour. Because of the
difficulty in identification, there is a good chance that some of the species
listed here are not identified correctly. Those I am not totally sure about
are marked with an asterisk (*). Species in this group that are very readily
identified such as Caladenia caesarea, I have
put in separate pages.
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Caladenia vulgata |
Caladenia vulgata |
Caladenia vulgata |
Caladenia vulgata |
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Very similar in size, colour and range as Caladenia
pendens, this is the most typical form of the 'filamentosa' group.
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Caladenia polychroma |
Caladenia polychroma |
Caladenia polychroma |
Caladenia aff. polychroma |
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C. polychroma is a highly variable
species with flowers ranging from pure white to streaked with red.
These orchids will hybridise with C. cairnsiana to produce the C. ericksoniae named hybrid. |
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Caladenia postea |
Caladenia postea |
Caladenia bicalliata? or |
Caladenia polychroma |
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Caladenia postea has flowers up to 8cm long and is
distinguished by its flowering period (late Oct-Nov) and dark tipped
petals and sepals. Where it grows, most other similar caladenias have
finished.
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Caladenia vulgata |
Caladenia vulgata |
Caladenia vulgata |
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Caladenia hiemalis |
Caladenia hiemalis |
Caladenia hiemalis |
Caladenia hiemalis |
| Caladenia hiemalis is distinguished by its small plants (10-20cm) and very early flowering period (early July-August) | |||
