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Canberra spider orchid

Caladenia actensis

Canberra spider orchid
Photo: petersan, CC BY 3.0

Canberra spider orchid is a small, deciduous terrestrial orchid from a tuber, endemic to the Australian Capital Territory, with only three small wild populations. It is a protected native that is rarely grown and is best left in the wild.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Water sparingly during the growing season after the leaf appears, and keep it almost dry while dormant in summer.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or gritty soil, similar to its rocky woodland habitat.
Temperature
Cool to mild temperatures suited to its Canberra climate; tolerates frost.
How easy
Hard
Native range
New South Wales (Australian Capital Territory)
Climate
subtropical

About

Caladenia actensis, commonly known as the Canberra spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the Australian Capital Territory. It has a single leaf and usually only one greenish flower with red markings and only occurs in three small populations.

Where it grows

Canberra spider orchid occurs in three small scattered populations on Mount Majura, Mount Ainslie and in the Madura Valley. It grows in the transitional zone between woodland and forest, with grasses and small shrubs, often amongst rocks.

Other Caladenia plants

Coastal spider orchid · Caladenia ×aestantha · Summer spider orchid · Fairy orchid · Stegostyla Alpina · Boranup spider orchid · Bundarra spider orchid · Charming spider orchid · Dainty spider orchid · Dainty blue china orchid · Genoa spider orchid · Caladenia angustata

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Caladenia actensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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