Caladenia lyallii
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Orchids
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Detailed description
Mostly solitary, terrestrial, hirsute, perennial herb. Plant at flowering up to 200 mm tall. Stem erect, slender and wiry, green to dark reddish-green, pilose hairy near base otherwise glandular-pubescent. Leaf solitary, up to 180 mm long, green, linear-lanceolate, pilose hairy. Floral bracts 1–4, foliaceous, closely sheathing stem, dark green to reddish-green. Flowers 2–(4) in a lax raceme, ovary usually > bract. Perianth up to 40 mm diameter, white (very rarely pink), rarely obscurely sriped with red, externally glandular-pubescent. Sepals elliptic-oblong; dorsal sepal wider and arching over column; lateral sepals wide-spreading, subacute. Petals similar to lateral sepals. Labellum trilobed; mid-lobe narrowly triangular and recurved; lateral lobes broad, transversely barred with red; calli stpitate, clavate to ellipsoid, yellow, in four more or less regular rows on disc, smaller and more cordwed on mid-lobe and its margin. Column curved; wings of uniform width from base to anther, tranversely barred with red.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from Caladenia atradenia by the usually 2-flowered, rather than solitary, white rather than dark green to reddish green flowers, and by the white labellum with red transverse bars, rather than initially white grading into dark purple-black labellum; and also by the yellow rather than dark purple-black calli.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Habitat
Montane in tussock grassland, subalpine scrub, or in beech (Nothofagaceae) forest. Also common in montane pine plantations.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO?
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Stegostyla lyallii (Hook.f.) D.L.Jones et M.A.Clem.
Taxonomic notes
Jones et al. (2001) erected the genus Stegostyla for what they regarded as a distinct clade of South-eastern Australian, Tasmanian and New Zealand orchids that had usually been referred to as Caladenia. Subsequently Hopper et al. (2004) showed how the reorganisation of Caladenia by Jones et al. (2001) was unworkable and they recommended a return to Caladenia and the other allied Australian genera that had been recognised previously. Following discussion with S. Hopper and P. Weston (pers. comm., 2011, 2014) the treatment of Hopper et al. (2004) is preferred to that of Jones et al. (2001) and so is followed here.
New Zealand populations of Caladenia lyallii are somewhat variable and some orchidologists maintain that the Tasmanian C. alpina is also present in New Zealand. However Hopper et al. (2004) treat that species as a synonym of Caladenia lyallii—this needs further investigation. Irrespective of that view, as currently circumscribed, C. lyallii remains extremely variable with respect to flower size and number of calli. Some of these forms have a clear geographic basis and they may warrant formal taxonomic recognition.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–December
Fruiting
December–March
Propagation technique
Difficult—should not be removed from the wild.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
lyallii: Named after David Lyall (1817-1895), 19th century Scottish naturalist and surgeon with the Royal Navy, who explored Antarctica, New Zealand, the Arctic and North America and was a lifelong friend of Sir Joseph Hooker.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CALLYA
Chromosome number
2n = 48
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO?
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: TL
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Hopper SD, Brown AP. 2004 Robert Brown’s Caladenia revisited, including a revision of its sister genera Cyanicula, Ericksonella and Pheladenia (Caladeniinae: Orchidaceae). Australian Systematic Botany 17(2): 171–240. https://doi.org/10.1071/SB03002.
Jones DL, Clements MA, Sharma IK, Mackenzie AM. 2001. A New Classification of Caladenia R.Br. (Orchidaceae). The Orchadian 13(9): 389–419. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/310770#page/1/mode/1up.
Jones DL, Molloy BPJ, Clements MA. 1997. Three new species and a new combination in Caladenia R.Br. (Orchidaceae) from New Zealand. The Orchadian 12: 221–229.
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (12 February 2007). Description adapted from Moore and Edgar (1970).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Caladenia lyallii Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/caladenia-lyallii/ (Date website was queried)