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Dwarf spider orchid

Caladenia pumila

Caladenia pumila, the dwarf spider orchid, is a rare terrestrial ground orchid from Victoria, Australia, with a single hairy leaf and one white, pink-striped flower on a short stem. It is a species in the Orchidaceae, known from very few plants and grown mainly by specialist collectors and conservation programs.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Light
Part shade
Water
Water sparingly during its growing season in cool months and keep nearly dry while dormant in summer.
Soil
Free-draining, sandy or loamy soil with good organic matter.
Temperature
10–20 °C; tolerates cool winters and needs protection from heat above about 30 °C.
How easy
Hard
Native range
SW. Victoria
Climate
subtropical

About

Caladenia pumila, commonly known as the dwarf spider orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single erect, hairy leaf and a single white flower with pale pink stripes. Its short flowering stem distinguishes it from other Victorian spider orchids. After 1933 it was presumed extinct until two plants were discovered in 2009.

Where it grows

The dwarf spider orchid has only been recorded from grassy woodland near Bannockburn and is only known from two plants.

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 pumila 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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