Caladenia nothofageti
Common names
beech caladenia
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Orchids
Flower colours
Green, White
Detailed description
Solitary, hirsute, terrestrial, tuberous herb. Leaf semi-erect, 40–180 × 1–3 mm, bright green, narrowly linear, sparsely glandular pubescent. Flowering scape slender, wiry, 50–100 mm tall, green, glandular-pubescent. Sterile bracts closely sheathing, 8–10 × 2–3 mm, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse to acute, externally glandular-pubescent; fertile bracts closely sheathing, 5.0–7.0 × 2.0–2.5 mm, lanceolate, externally glandular pubescent. Ovary 6–8 mm long, narrowly ellipsoid, green, glandular-pubescent. Flower unscented, usually solitary, 14–16 mm diameter, externally greenish-white, internally white. Tepals externally sparsely glandular; dorsal sepal erect and slightly incurved; lateral sepals porrect to obliquely decurved, slightly divergent; petals spreading to drooping. Dorsal sepal 8.0–9.5 × 2.0–3.0 mm, narrowly obovate, obtuse. Lateral sepals 8.0–9.5 × 2.3 mm, narrowly oblanceolate, slightly falcate, obtuse. Petals 8.0–9.0 × 2.2 mm, falcate, subacute. Labellum white (very rarely with faint pink transverse bars), articulated on a short 0.3 × 0.7 mm claw, trilobed; lamina transversely ovate in outline when flattened, 5.5–6.5 × 5.0–5.5 mm, erect in proximal ⅓, porrect to decurved in distal ⅔, apex decurved; lateral lobes 2.3 mm wide, erect and column-embracing, entire; mid-lobe 3 mm long, oblong-tapered; margins cream to pale yellow, with 4–6 pairs of flat marginal calli to 0.8 mm long, these decrescent and irregular towards apex; lamina calli pale yellow, in 2 rows extending onto the base of the mid-lobe; basal calli 2–4, stipitate; head ovoid or bifurcate, c. 0.6 mm diameter, papillate; longest lamina calli 1 mm long, stipitate; head 0.2 mm diameter, papillate. Column 5.5–6.0 × 2.5 mm, green, shallowly incurved, narrowly winged; central anterior ridge c. 1 mm wide. Anther c. 1.3 × 1.3 mm, cream, papillate, with a short rostrum. Pollinia 4, 1 mm long, flat, white, mealy, incoherent. Stigma semi-circular, 1 mm diameter sunken. Capsule erect 10.2–12.0 mm long, ovoid to ovoid-ellipsoid, green often with purple stripes.
Similar taxa
Closest to Caladenia chlorostyla from which it differs by its mostly solitary, white flowers or greenish-white flowers. The labellum is usually uniformly white but on rare occasions it can be transversely faintly pink-barred. This species is very close to C. minor and is regarded by many as simply a colour-variant of it.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (from about Lake Taupo south), South Island.
Habitat
Lowland to montane (up to 1000 m a.s.l). Virtually confined to beech (Nothofagaceae) forest where it favours well-lighted sites relatively free from other taller plants. Often found on banks or lining track sides. Sometimes found around the margins of seepages.
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
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Petalochilus nothofageti (D.L.Jones, Molloy et M.A.Clem.) D.L.Jones et M.A.Clem.
Taxonomic notes
Jones et al. (2001) revived the genus Petalochilus R.S.Rogers (erected by Rogers (1924) for what has come to be viewed as a peloric state of Caladenia R.Br.—see Moore & Edgar (1970)) for a distinct clade of mostly 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 followed here.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
November–January
Fruiting
January–April
Propagation technique
Difficult–should not be removed from the wild.
Other information
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.
CALNOT
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
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
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.
Rogers RS. 1924. Petalochilus: a New Genus of New Zealand Orchids. The Journal of Botany 62: 65–67. https://archive.bsbi.org/Journal_of_Botany_1924.pdf
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 14 April 2007. Description modified from Jones et al. (1997).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Caladenia nothofageti Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/caladenia-nothofageti/ (Date website was queried)