Caladenia variegata

Detailed description

Stout terrestrial orchid usually mostly occurring at solitary plants sometimes as small colonies of up to 10. All parts finely but sparsely glandular hairy. Leaf solitary up to 300 × 4 mm, narrow-linear to linear-lanceolate, dark green to reddish-green. Stem erect, stout, up to 300 mm tall, dark red-green or red, sparsely eglandular-glandular hairy. Floral bracts 1–(2). Flowers 1–(2) up to 30 mm diameter, in lax racemes, perianth usually pink, rarely white, if pink often darker toward flower centre. Dorsal sepal erect, arching over column, more or less cucullate toward apex, externally green tinged, lateral sepals wide spreading to somewhat deflexed broadly elliptic, apex obtuse to broadly obtuse, apiculate. Petals elliptic to narrowly elliptic, apex sharply acute, often falcate. Labellum 3-lobed, externally pale pink flushed with white toward margins, internally pink or white, marked with transverse dark red bands, disc with 2 more or less equal lines of prominently stalked calli, stalks dark pink or white, callus heads spheroidal, globular to ellipsoid, bright yellow, lateral lobes deeply cut; mid-lobe narrowly triangular, slightly recurved, either white or pink or basally white or pink flushed yellow, margins crenulated, dark yellow, marginal calli either absent or with a single semi-flattened yellow callus on either side. Column erect to slightly recurved, externally surface bright green, covered with fine, pink glandular hairs, internally green with 5–8 dark red transverse, irregular bars, column wings distinctly broadening toward apex. Anther pink.