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Mellblom's spider orchid

Caladenia hastata

Also called Melblom's Spider Orchid

Mellblom's spider orchid is a small, deciduous ground orchid from coastal heath in south-west Victoria, Australia, with one hairy leaf and usually one white to cream flower. It is a rare, protected native and is rarely grown in gardens, so it is best left in the wild or grown only by specialist conservation growers.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Water moderately while in active growth in winter and spring, then keep almost dry while dormant in summer.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or loamy soil suited to native terrestrial orchids.
Temperature
Cool to mild temperate conditions; tolerates cold winters, avoid prolonged heat.
How easy
Hard
Native range
SW. Victoria
Climate
subtropical

About

Caladenia hastata, commonly known as Mellblom's spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and up to three white to cream-coloured flowers with red markings on the labellum.

Where it grows

Caladenia hastata grows in dense coastal heath in the Portland area. It is thought to have been common there before 1950 but then to have become extinct, until specimens were found at Point Danger. The numbers at Point Danger also declined until only six plants were recorded in 1996. Following conservation efforts, the numbers increased until there were about 740 plants recorded in five population.

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 hastata 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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