# Caladenia

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Genus of orchids

Spider orchids C. carnea growing in Tasmania Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Orchidoideae Tribe: Diurideae Subtribe: Caladeniinae Genus: Caladenia R.Br.[1] Species List of Caladenia species Synonyms[1] List Arachnorchis D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. Caladeniastrum (Szlach.) Szlach. Calonema (Lindl.) Wittst. nom. illeg. Calonemorchis Szlach. Cyanicula Hopper & A.P.Br. Drakonorchis (Hopper & A.P.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. Elythranthera (Endl.) A.S.George Ericksonella Hopper & A.P.Br. Glossodia R.Br. Glycorchis D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. Jonesiopsis Szlach. Pentisea (Lindl.) Szlach. Petalochilus R.S.Rogers Phlebochilus (Benth.) Szlach. Stegostyla D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

***Caladenia***, commonly known as **spider orchids**,[2] is a [genus](/source/Genus) of 350 [species](/source/Species) of [plants](/source/Plant) in the orchid [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)), [Orchidaceae](/source/Orchidaceae). Spider orchids are [terrestrial](/source/Terrestrial_plant) [herbs](/source/Herbaceous_plant) with a single hairy leaf and a hairy stem. The [labellum](/source/Labellum_(botany)) is fringed or toothed in most species and there are small projections called [calli](/source/Labellum_(botany)) on the labellum. The flowers have adaptations to attract particular species of insects for [pollination](/source/Pollination). The genus is divided into three groups on the basis of flower shape, broadly, spider orchids, zebra orchids and cowslip orchids, although other common names are often used. Although they occur in other countries, most are Australian and 136 species occur in [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia), making it the most species-rich orchid genus in that state.

## Description

Orchids in the genus *Caladenia* are terrestrial, [perennial](/source/Perennial_plant), [deciduous](/source/Deciduous), [sympodial](/source/Sympodial) herbs with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and a [tuber](/source/Tuber) partly surrounded by a fibrous [sheath](/source/Tunica_(biology)). The tuber produces two "droppers" which become daughter tubers in the following year. There is a single hairy [convolute](/source/Convolute_(botany)) leaf at the base of the plant. Most species have an enlarged cell at the base of each hair. The leaf may be medium-sized to large, fleshy or leathery, lance-shaped to oblong, but is always [simple](/source/Leaf#Divisions_of_the_blade), lacking lobes and serrations.[2][3][4]

The [inflorescence](/source/Inflorescence) is a [raceme](/source/Raceme) with from one to eight [resupinate](/source/Resupination#Orchidaceae) [flowers](/source/Flower). The three [sepals](/source/Sepal) and two [petals](/source/Petal) are free and similar in size and shape to each other. In some species, the sepals or petals or both have narrow tips with club-like ends. As is usual in orchids, one petal is highly modified as the central labellum. The labellum is divided into three parts, each of which usually has a fringed or dentate margin, while the central lobe has stalked or button-like [calli](/source/Labellum_(botany)) which are often in rows. The sexual parts of the flower are fused to the [column](/source/Column_(botany)), which has wing-like structures on its sides. Most species flower in early spring but some species, such as the winter spider orchid (*[C. drummondii](/source/Caladenia_drummondii)*) flower in other months. The fruit that follows flowering is a non-fleshy, [dehiscent](/source/Dehiscence_(botany)) [capsule](/source/Capsule_(botany)) containing up to 500 seeds.[2][3][4]

*[C. flava](/source/Caladenia_flava)* growing near [Bertram](/source/Bertram%2C_Western_Australia), [W.A.](/source/Western_Australia)

## Taxonomy and naming

The first specimens of the genus were collected by [Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks) in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) in 1777 and by [Archibald Menzies](/source/Archibald_Menzies) in [King George Sound](/source/King_George_Sound) in Western Australia in 1784. [James Edward Smith](/source/James_Edward_Smith_(botanist)) formally described *Arethusa catenata*, now known as *[Caladenia catenata](/source/Caladenia_catenata)* in 1805, from specimens collected in Sydney.[5][6]

The genus was first formally described by [Robert Brown](/source/Robert_Brown_(Scottish_botanist_from_Montrose)) in 1810 in *[Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae](/source/Prodromus_Florae_Novae_Hollandiae)*. At the same time he described 15 species of *Caladenia* but did not nominate a [type species](/source/Type_species). Brown collected the specimens as a member of [Matthew Flinders](/source/Matthew_Flinders)' mapping and exploration voyage that circumnavigated [Australia](/source/Australia). He spent just over three years on botanical research with assistants in Australia.[7][8]

The genus name (*Caladenia*) is derived from the [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek) words *kalos* meaning "beautiful" and *aden* meaning "a gland" referring to the colourful labellum.[9]

There has been disagreement between taxonomists as to which orchids belong in the genus *Caladenia* and which do not, and about classification within the genus.[10] Recent studies of the [molecular phylogenetics](/source/Molecular_phylogenetics) of the group suggest that [John Lindley](/source/John_Lindley)’s 1840 description of *Caladenia* (in *The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants*),[11] but including *[Glossodia](/source/Glossodia)* and *[Elythranthera](/source/Elythranthera)*, as being the most accurate reflection of the subtribe *[Caladeniinae](/source/Caladeniinae)*. Those orchids previously included in the genera *Glossodia*, *Elythranthera* and *Cyanicula* have been transferred to *Caladenia*.[1]

Caladenia orchids are informally grouped into those with long narrow sepals and petals, such as the white spider orchid (*[C. longicauda](/source/Caladenia_longicauda)*) and the clubbed spider orchid (*[C. longiclavata](/source/Caladenia_longiclavata)*), those with short sepals and petals which tend to hang near the stem, such as the zebra orchid (*[C. cairnsiana](/source/Caladenia_cairnsiana)*) and dwarf zebra orchid (*[C. pachychila](/source/Caladenia_pachychila)*) and a third group with short, spreading sepals and petals such as the cowslip orchid ([*C. flava*](/source/Caladenia_flava)) and fan orchid ([*C. nana*](/source/Caladenia_nana_subsp._nana)).[2]

## Distribution and habitat

Most caladenias are [endemic](/source/Endemism) to Australia. Eleven species, ten of which are endemic, occur in [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) with one also occurring in Australia. *[Caladenia catenata](/source/Caladenia_catenata)* and *[C. carnea](/source/Caladenia_carnea)* occur in [New Caledonia](/source/New_Caledonia), with the latter also found in [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia). There are about 136 species endemic to the [south-west](/source/Southwest_Australia) of Western Australia, 114 of which have been formally described and a further 18 hybrids which have been described and named.[12]

In Western Australia, caladenias are found in the [south-west](/source/Southwest_Australia) from north of [Kalbarri](/source/Kalbarri%2C_Western_Australia) on the west coast to the [Nuytsland Nature Reserve](/source/Nuytsland_Nature_Reserve) on the coast of the [Great Australian Bight](/source/Great_Australian_Bight). Their habitats range from cool, moist [karri](/source/Eucalyptus_diversicolor) forest, to [swamplands](/source/Swamp) near the coast and to almost arid [mallee](/source/Mallee_(habit)) [woodland](/source/Woodland).[2]

## Ecology

Orchids in the genus *Caladenia* are pollinated by insects, usually bees or wasps. Some species appear to attract male wasps by having the scent, shape and colouration of flightless female wasps. For example, *[C. lobata](/source/Caladenia_lobata)* attracts male *[Thynnoides bidens](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thynnoides_bidens&action=edit&redlink=1)* wasps. As the wasps lands on the flower, the labellum is pulled down by the insect's weight. As it moves up the labellum, that organ tips the insect against the column where the wasp contacts the sexual parts and either picks up or deposits [pollinia](/source/Pollinium). Many such orchids are only attractive to one species of insect. Sometimes [hybrids](/source/Hybrid_(biology)) between female-mimicking and food-attracting species occur as in the case of *[C. patersonii](/source/Caladenia_patersonii)* which has the odour of fermentation. *C. patersonii* attracts several insect species, and forms hybrids with insect-mimicking species including *[C. lobata](/source/Caladenia_lobata)* and *[C. dilatata](/source/Caladenia_dilatata)*.[13][14]

In some caladenias, the sepal and petals (apart from the labellum) are narrow with expanded tips called "clubs". These are thought to be the source of sexual attractants for those species that mimic female wasps. Most such species do not have a scent detectable by humans but are attractive to male Thynnid wasps. For some species, such as *[C. multiclavia](/source/Caladenia_multiclavia)*, it is the labellum that mimics the size, shape and presumably the scent of females.[2]

## Use in horticulture

*Caladenia* have generally proven difficult to maintain and cultivate artificially.[15] Some enthusiasts have had limited success by cultivating the [symbiotic](/source/Symbiosis) fungus that the orchid requires and by careful use of fertiliser to keep the fungus and orchid in balance.[16] The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records that "These and other orchids have edible tubers."[17]

### Gallery

		- Arrowsmith spider orchid (*[C. crebra](/source/Caladenia_crebra)*)

		- Clubbed spider orchid (*[C. longicauda](/source/Caladenia_longicauda)*) budding

		- White fingers (*[C. chlorostyla](/source/Caladenia_chlorostyla)*), from [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand)

		- Several Caladenia species from [Pelloe](/source/Emily_Pelloe)'s *West Australia Orchids*

		- *[C. atrovespa](/source/Caladenia_atrovespa)* growing near [Canberra](/source/Canberra)

		- Dancing spider (*[C. discoidea](/source/Caladenia_discoidea)*) growing near [Perth](/source/Perth)

		- Butterfly orchid (*[C. lobata](/source/Caladenia_lobata)*) near [Mount Barker](/source/Mount_Barker%2C_Western_Australia)

		- Large white spider orchid (*[C. venusta](/source/Caladenia_venusta)*)

## See also

- [List of *Caladenia* species](/source/List_of_Caladenia_species)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-PoWO_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-PoWO_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-PoWO_1-2) ["*Caladenia*"](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:28913-1). Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 October 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_2-5) Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). *Orchids of South-West Australia* (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 25. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780646562322](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780646562322).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FloraBase_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FloraBase_3-1) ["*Caladenia*"](https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/21262). *[FloraBase](/source/FloraBase)*. Western Australian Government [Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions](/source/Department_of_Biodiversity%2C_Conservation_and_Attractions).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RBGS_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RBGS_4-1) Bernhardt, Peter. ["Genus *Caladenia*"](http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=gn&name=Caladenia). Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI1_5-0)** ["*Arethusa catenata*"](https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/526102). APNI. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-AJB_6-0)** Clements, Mark A.; Howard, Christopher G.; Miller, Joseph T. (13 April 2015). ["Caladenia revisited: Results of molecular phylogenetic analyses of Caladeniinae plastid and nuclear loci"](https://doi.org/10.3732%2Fajb.1500021). *American Journal of Botany*. **102** (4): 581–597. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3732/ajb.1500021](https://doi.org/10.3732%2Fajb.1500021). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [25878091](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25878091).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI_7-0)** ["*Caladenia*"](https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/512077). APNI. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Brown_8-0)** Brown, Robert (1810). [*Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21771#page/193/mode/1up). London. pp. 321–322. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Quattrocchi_9-0)** Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). *CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names (Volume 1: A - C)*. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 389. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0849326753](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0849326753).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Annals_10-0)** Hopper, Stephen D. (26 April 2009). ["Taxonomic turmoil down-under: recent developments in Australian orchid systematics"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720664). *Annals of Botany*. **104** (3): 447–455. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/aob/mcp090](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Faob%2Fmcp090). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [2720664](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720664). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [19398445](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19398445).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lindl._11-0)** Lindley, John (1840). [*The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/9889#page/433/mode/1up). Piccadilly, London: Ridgways. p. 421. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Brockman_12-0)** Brockman, Garry; Brown, Andrew P. (2015). "New taxa of *Caladenia* (Orchidaceae) from south-west Western Australia". *Nuytsia*. **25**: 45–123. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.58828/nuy00724](https://doi.org/10.58828%2Fnuy00724).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CSIRO_13-0)** Stoutamire, Warren P. (1983). "Wasp-Pollinated Species of (Orchidaceae) in South-Western Australia". *Australian Journal of Botany*. **31** (4): 383–394. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1071/BT9830383](https://doi.org/10.1071%2FBT9830383).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cingel_14-0)** van der Cingel, Nelis A. (2000). *An Atlas of Orchid Pollination : America, Africa, Asia and Australia*. Rotterdam: Balkema. pp. 196–200. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9054104864](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9054104864).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Coker_15-0)** Coker, Julian. ["Australian Native Orchids - An Overview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160328051547/http://@oscov.asn.au/articles3/austnat.htm). Orchid Societies Council of Victoria Inc. Archived from [the original](http://www.oscov.asn.au/articles3/austnat.htm) on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-PBS_16-0)** ["*Caladenia*"](http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Caladenia). Pacific Bulb Society. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MAIDEN_17-0)** Maiden, J. H. (1889). [*The Useful Native Plants of Australia, (Including Tasmania)*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12453191). Sydney: The Technological Museum of New South Wales. p. 11. Retrieved 20 December 2025.

- New species in *Orchid Research Newsletter* No. 47 (January 2006) (Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew)

## External links

- Media related to [Caladenia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Caladenia) at Wikimedia Commons

- [Gallery of images](http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Eemntee/Caladenia3.htm) - Orchid Society of Western Australia

Taxon identifiers Caladenia Wikidata: Q2720020 Wikispecies: Caladenia APNI: 90466 BOLD: 412605 CoL: 8VVTS eFloraSA: Caladenia EoL: 17283 FloraBase: 21262 FoAO2: Caladenia GBIF: 2841100 GRIN: 1857 iNaturalist: 140838 IPNI: 28913-1 IRMNG: 1303217 NCBI: 79027 NZOR: c69163b1-1539-4709-af71-8d3be633af38 Open Tree of Life: 22389 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:28913-1 Tropicos: 40034288 VicFlora: acfa1bf3-eff3-4f59-9db7-fb6d4caba6fd WFO: wfo-4000005934

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