Plants of
South Australia
Caladenia reticulata
Orchidaceae
Veined Spider-orchid,
Veined Caladenia
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Prior names

Calonemorchis reticulata

Arachnorchis reticulata

Calonema reticulatum

Caladenia huegelii var. reticulata

Common names

Veined Spider-orchid

Veined Caladenia

Etymology

Caladenia from the Greek 'kallos' meaning beauty and 'aden' meaning a gland, referring to the colourful labellum and the glistening glands at the base of the column that are present in many of the species. Reticulata from Latin meaning netted or net-like, referring to the dark red veins on labellum.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, growing on clay or gravelly soils on slopes in open woodland. Also found in Victoria. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Victoria.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Terrestrial orchid with a flowering stem to 30 cm high. Leaves linear or narrow-lanceolate, to 12 cm in length, hairy. Flower single yellowish-green and red to wholly red flower borne on a stalk to 30 cm tall. Sepals  dark, narrow, club-like glandular tips to 10 mm long. Dorsal sepal erect at its base but curves forward, to 30 mm long. Lateral sepals to 35 mm long and 5 mm wide and spreading. Petals slightly shorter and narrower than the lateral sepals and taper to narrow, thread-like tips. Labellum red or yellowish-green with red markings, to 11 mm long and 8 mm wide, edge sometimes with teeth and four or six rows of calli near the base of the labellum but decreasing in size towards its tip. Flowering between September and November. Fruits are pale-brown hairy, papery ellipsoid capsule containing numerous tiny seeds.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect fat capsules as they start to dry and turn brown. Pods will split and release the seeds quickly and will require monitoring. To increase the chances of collecting mature pods, it is recommended that a small breathable bag (ie. Organza bags) be used to enclose the developing capsules. Place the capsules in a container that will hold fine seeds and leave to dry for a few weeks or until the capsule split. Then carefully hold the capsule and tap it gently to release the seeds. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place, refrigerator or in liquid nitrogen.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA22,000 (0.008 g)718-Sep-2015KHB872
Southern Lofty
1-Nov-2017N/C-80°C
BGA540,700 (0.19 g)30-Oct-2018Black Hill
Southern Lofty
24-Apr-2019N/C-18°C, -80°C
BGA588,000 (0.21 g)1926-Oct-2019P.Beltrame
Southern Lofty
10-Aug-2022N/C-18°C, -80°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.