Caladenia praecox

Flowering plant very slender, 6–13 cm tall. Leaf linear, 6–12 cm long, 2–3 mm wide, sparsely hairy, often glabrous above. Flowers 1–4, white with pink or green markings (rarely wholly pink); ovary c. 5–9 mm long; perianth segments 9–15 mm long, 2.5–4.5 mm wide, bluntish to acute, outer surfaces with dark red, glandular hairs; dorsal sepal hooded, curved at about middle, embracing the column, narrowly elliptic; lateral sepals and petals spreading, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, asymmetric, lateral sepals broader than petals. Labellum on short claw, very obscurely 3-lobed, 6–7 mm long (when flattened), white, often red-spotted; margins entire until labellum starts tapering towards the apex, then fringed with calli; calli slender, relatively long, granular-headed (i.e. with rounded minute papillae), white, yellow, crimson or purple, becoming abruptly shorter near to scalloped apex; apex crimson or purple; lamina calli in 4–6 rows, extending from base almost to apex, not congested, shortly stalked, clubbed, heads granular and yellow or white. Column erect at base, upper third bent forward, narrowly winged at base but expanded above, often spotted dull crimson; anther with short point. Flowers Aug.–Sep.