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Rusty spider orchid

Caladenia ferruginea

Rusty spider orchid
Photo: Geoff Derrin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Rusty spider orchid is a terrestrial orchid from south-west Western Australia with a single hairy leaf and up to four rust-coloured flowers in spring. It grows from a tuber and is rarely cultivated, so care advice is general for terrestrial Caladenia.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Keep soil moist during growth in winter and spring, then let it dry out while dormant in summer.
Soil
Free-draining sandy or peaty mix that stays slightly moist in the growing season.
Temperature
10–22 °C; tolerates cool winters, protect from heat above 30 °C
How easy
Hard
Native range
SW. Australia
Climate
subtropical

About

Caladenia ferruginea, commonly known as the rusty spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to four rust-coloured flowers with a white, red-tipped labellum.

Where it grows

Rusty spider orchid is found between Perth and Albany in the Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions where grows in a variety of habitats ranging from well-drained soil in woodlands to swamps which are flooded in winter.

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 ferruginea 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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