Caladenia nana, commonly known as pink fan orchid,[2] is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a clump-forming ground orchid with a single linear leaf and up to 6 pale pink to rose pink flowers.
Description
Caladenia nana is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous herb that forms clumps. It has a single linear to broadly linear leaf, 50–180 mm (2.0–7.1 in) long and 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) wide with a reddish-purple blotches near the base. Up to 6 pale pink to rose pink flowers 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) wide are borne on a spike 50–400 mm (2.0–15.7 in) tall. The sepals and petals are broadly lance-shaped with glandular hairs on the back. The dorsal sepal is erect and curves forward, 7–17 mm (0.28–0.67 in) long and 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) wide. The lateral sepals are 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide, the petals 7–17 mm (0.28–0.67 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) wide. The labellum is white with pink blotches and markings, and is 5–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) long 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) wide with three lobes. Flowering occurs from August to November.[3][4][5]
Caladenia nana R.Br. subsp. nana[9] - little pink fan orchid, grows to 50–150 mm (2.0–5.9 in) tall and flowers from late August to October, with lateral sepals 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide.[5][10]
Caladenia nana subsp. unita Hopper & A.P.Br. [11] - pink fan orchid, grows to 150–400 mm (5.9–15.7 in) tall and flowers from October to November, with lateral sepals 11–19 mm (0.43–0.75 in) long and 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) wide.[5][12]
^ abcBrown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 148–149. ISBN9780980296457.
^ abHoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. pp. 172–173. ISBN9780646562322.
^Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 259. ISBN9780958034180.