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Crucifix spider orchid

Caladenia cruciformis

Also called Bordertown Spider Orchid, Red Cross Spider Orchid

Crucifix spider orchid
Photo: Trex21, CC BY-SA 3.0

Crucifix spider orchid is a rare, deciduous ground orchid from a small area of Victoria, Australia, with a single leaf and one red spider-like flower. It is a wild species rarely grown in cultivation, so care guidance here is general to terrestrial Caladenia orchids.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Water sparingly during the growing season in autumn and winter, and let it rest dry while dormant in summer.
Soil
Sandy loam with leaf litter or a free-draining orchid mix.
Temperature
10–20 °C; protect from hard frost and extreme summer heat.
How easy
Hard
Native range
SE. South Australia to Victoria
Climate
subtropical

About

Caladenia cruciformis, commonly known as the crucifix spider orchid, or red cross spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to a small area in Victoria. It is a rare ground orchid with a single, sparsely hairy leaf and a single dark red to crimson flower with blackish tips.

Where it grows

The red cross spider orchid is found in eucalypt forest or woodland with a heathy understorey, growing in sandy loam with accumulated leaf litter. It is only known from a small area near Stuart Mill and the Dalyenong Nature Conservation Reserve.

Other Caladenia plants

Coastal spider orchid · Canberra 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

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Caladenia cruciformis 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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