# Spiculaea

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Genus of orchids

Elbow orchid On Boyagin Rock Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Monocots Order: Asparagales Family: Orchidaceae Subfamily: Orchidoideae Tribe: Diurideae Subtribe: Drakaeinae Genus: Spiculaea Lindl. Species: S. ciliata Binomial name Spiculaea ciliata Lindl.[1] Synonyms[1] Drakaea ciliata (Lindl.) Rchb.f.

***Spiculaea*** is a genus of plants defined by a single species, ***Spiculaea ciliata***, commonly known as **elbow orchid**,[2] and allied to the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Orchidaceae](/source/Orchidaceae). Endemic to the south-west of [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia), the species is unusual in a number of respects; it grows in shallow soil on [granite rock outcrops](/source/Granite_outcrops_of_Western_Australia), grows and flowers in the hottest months of the year and has a unique method of using thynnid wasps as pollinators.

## Description

*Spiculaea ciliata* is a terrestrial, [perennial](/source/Perennial_plant), [deciduous](/source/Deciduous), [sympodial](/source/Sympodial) [herb](/source/Herbaceous_plant) with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and an oval-shaped [tuber](/source/Tuber) lacking a protective [sheath](/source/Tunica_(biology)). The tuber produces a replacement tuber and daughter tubers on the end of short, root-like [stolons](/source/Stolon). There is a single stalked leaf about 2 cm (0.8 in) long, 1 cm (0.4 in) wide at the base of the plant and purplish on the lower surface. The leaf is fully developed before the first flowers appear but withers before the first flowers open in late October.[3][4][5]

There are up to ten [resupinate](/source/Resupination#Orchidaceae) flowers on the end of a wiry stem 10–18 cm (4–7 in) high which is thickest near the top and which gradually withers from the base as the flowers mature. Each flower is straw-coloured, 20 mm (0.8 in) long and 10 mm (0.4 in) wide on a short stalk. The [dorsal](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dorsal) [sepal](/source/Sepal) curves over the top of the flower, with its side edges curved downwards. The two [lateral](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lateral) sepals are shorter than the dorsal sepal and the two petals are narrower than both. The petals are sepals are separate from each other. As is usual in orchids, one [petal](/source/Petal) is highly modified as the central [labellum](/source/Labellum_(botany)). The labellum is shaped like a wingless insect, and is attached to the base of the column by a flexible, hinge-like "claw". The labellum is much smaller than in other orchids and is rod-like, fleshy and has many club-shaped hairs. The sexual parts of the flower are fused to the [column](/source/Column_(botany)), which has wing-like structures on its sides. Flowering occurs from October to January and is followed by a fruit which is a non-fleshy, glabrous, [dehiscent](/source/Dehiscence_(botany)) [capsule](/source/Capsule_(botany)) containing a large number of seeds.[3][4][5]

Labelled image

## Taxonomy and naming

This orchid was first formally described in 1840 by [John Lindley](/source/John_Lindley), his description was published in *[A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony](/source/A_Sketch_of_the_Vegetation_of_the_Swan_River_Colony)*.[6][7] In 1871 [Heinrich Reichenbach](/source/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach) assigned them to an extant genus, *[Drakaea](/source/Drakaea)*, publishing the combination *Drakaea ciliata*.[8] However, in a 1989 revision [David Jones](/source/David_Lloyd_Jones_(botanist)) and [Mark Clements](/source/Mark_Alwin_Clements), separated this population from *Drakaea* and other orchid genera and this reinstated Lindley's original name.[9]

The origin of the genus name, *"Spiculaea"*, is from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word *spiculum* meaning "a sharp point" or "a sting", probably referring to the appendage at the tip of the labellum.[10]: 114 The [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_name) ("ciliata") is from the [Latin](/source/Latin) word meaning "eyelash" or "eyelid",[10]: 390 referring to the long hairs found on the sides of the labellum.[2]

## Distribution and habitat

*Spiculaea ciliata* grows in shallow, sandy soil over [granite](/source/Granite) between the [Darling Scarp](/source/Darling_Scarp), [Paynes Find](/source/Paynes_Find%2C_Western_Australia) and [Mount Ney](/source/Mount_Ney) in the [Avon Wheatbelt](/source/Avon_Wheatbelt), [Coolgardie](/source/Coolgardie), [Esperance Plains](/source/Esperance_Plains), [Geraldton Sandplains](/source/Geraldton_Sandplains), [Jarrah Forest](/source/Jarrah_Forest) and [Mallee](/source/Mallee_(biogeographic_region)) [biogeographic regions](/source/IBRA).[3]

## Ecology

The flowers of elbow orchid have been described as "bizarre" and the production of flowers during the hottest months is unusual.[5] One author described: "When most other plants dead or dying, this tiny orchid at its fascinating best. When everything else was brittle underfoot these are still succulent. A specimen continued to flower in my collection in the fridge after I got home, weeks later. ([Nikulinsky](/source/Philippa_Nikulinsky))"[11]

*Spiculaea ciliata* is thought to be pollinated by a male thynnid wasp of the genus *[Thynnoturneria](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thynnoturneria&action=edit&redlink=1)* which is initially attracted to the labellum of the orchid by a [pheromone](/source/Pheromone), flying from downwind towards the flower. At rest, the labellum resembles a wingless female wasp, resting on a blade of grass. The insect picks up the dummy female and tries to fly off with it, rising into the column where the column wings hold the insect, and its abdomen comes into contact with the sexual parts of the flower.[5][12]

## Conservation

The species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government [Department of Parks and Wildlife](/source/Department_of_Parks_and_Wildlife_(Western_Australia)).[4]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-APC_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-APC_1-1) ["*Spiculaea ciliata*"](https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/85900). Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 October 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-A.P.Brown_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-A.P.Brown_2-1) Brown, Andrew; Dixon, Kingsley; French, Christopher; Brockman, Garry (2013). *Field guide to the orchids of Western Australia : the definitive guide to the native orchids of Western Australia*. Simon Nevill Publications. pp. 410–411. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780980348149](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780980348149).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Hoffman_3-2) Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). *Orchids of South-West Australia* (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. pp. 216–218. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780646562322](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780646562322).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FloraBase_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FloraBase_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FloraBase_4-2) ["*Spiculaea*"](https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/21297). *[FloraBase](/source/FloraBase)*. Western Australian Government [Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions](/source/Department_of_Biodiversity%2C_Conservation_and_Attractions).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Orchids_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Orchids_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Orchids_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Orchids_5-3) Alec Pridgeon M.; Phillip J. Cribb; Mark W. Chase; Finn Rasmussen, eds. (2001). *Genera Orchidacearum, Volume 2, Orchidoideae (part 1)*. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 152–155. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0198507100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0198507100).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI_6-0)** ["*Spiculaea ciliata*"](https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/instance/apni/504947). APNI. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lindl._7-0)** Lindley, John (1840). [*A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony (Appendix)*](https://archive.org/details/sketchvegetatio00goog). Piccadilly, London: James Ridgway. p. 53. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-APNI(1)_8-0)** ["*Drakaea ciliata*"](https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/instance/apni/501366). APNI. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Clements_9-0)** Clements, Mark A. (1989). Jones, David L. (ed.). "Catalogue of Australian Orchidaceae". *Australian Orchid Research*. **1**: 135.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sharr_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sharr_10-1) [Francis Aubie Sharr](/source/Francis_Aubie_Sharr) (2019). *Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings*. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780958034180](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780958034180).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rocks_11-0)** Nikulinsky, Philippa; Hopper, Stephen D. (2008). *Life on the rocks : the art of survival*. Fremantle (Australia): Fremantle Press. p. 92. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781921361289](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781921361289).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cingel_12-0)** Cingel, Nelis A. van der (2000). *An atlas of orchid pollination : America, Africa, Asia and Australia*. Rotterdam: Balkema. p. 208. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9054104864](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9054104864).

## External links

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

Taxon identifiers Spiculaea Wikidata: Q3280769 Wikispecies: Spiculaea APNI: 85816 BOLD: 432117 CoL: 8W3QC EoL: 108334 FloraBase: 21297 GBIF: 2816859 GRIN: 11401 iNaturalist: 577047 IPNI: 30707-1 IRMNG: 1302196 NCBI: 152912 Open Tree of Life: 862814 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30707-1 Tropicos: 40003556 VicFlora: 72a63c00-1a41-4bd2-8e00-6abdf5d363a9 WFO: wfo-4000036080 Spiculaea ciliata Wikidata: Q15449898 Wikispecies: Spiculaea ciliata APNI: 85900 BOLD: 432118 CoL: 6YZZQ EoL: 1130314 FloraBase: 1700 GBIF: 2816860 iNaturalist: 1044146 IPNI: 658126-1 NCBI: 152913 Open Tree of Life: 862815 Plant List: kew-194126 POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:658126-1 Species+: 63350 Tropicos: 50035802 WFO: wfo-0000313014

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spiculaea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiculaea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiculaea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.