Caladenia carnea
R.Br.Flowering plant slender, 8–25 cm tall. Leaf linear, 5–15 cm long, shorter than flowering stem, 2–4 mm wide. Flowers 1–5, usually pink, sometimes white; ovary 5–10 mm long; perianth segments mostly greenish or pink on outside, with numerous sessile and stalked glands; dorsal sepal erect, sometimes recurved, linear, c. 10–15 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, usually more than 3 times as long as broad, apex bluntly acute to acute; lateral sepals spreading, sometimes slightly asymmetric, lanceolate, 10–17 mm long, 3–4 mm wide; petals spreading, 10–13 mm long, 3–3.5 mm wide. Labellum sessile, 3-lobed, 5–8 mm long, 5–8 mm wide (when flattened), white or pinkish, with prominent transverse red bars; lateral lobes prominent, broad, margins entire, anterior margin rounded; mid-lobe small, recurved, triangular, usually about same length (when straightened) as lateral lobes, toothed or with marginal calli or rarely entire, yellow at apex; lamina calli in 2–4 rows up to base of mid-lobe, stalked and clubbed, yellow. Column incurved, narrowly winged, barred with dark-red; anther with a long point. Flowers Aug.–Nov.
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, WPro, HSF, HNF, OtR, Strz, MonT, HFE, VAlp. Widespread across much of Victoria but absent from the far north-west and the alps. Habitats include coastal heathlands and scrubland, woodlands and open forests on well-drained sandy loams or dry skeletal soils.
Extremely variable in terms of flowering time, flower colour and size and possibly still contains undescribed taxa.
Caladenia carnea var. subulata is not recognised as a distinct taxon, being regarded currently as a freakish development of C. carnea.
Entwisle, T.J. (1994). Orchidaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 740–901. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
