Pink fan orchid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pink fan orchid |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Diurideae |
| Genus: | Caladenia |
| Species: |
C. nana
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| Subspecies: |
C. n. subsp. unita
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| Trinomial name | |
| Caladenia nana subsp. unita (Fitzg.) Hopper & A.P.Br.
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The Pink fan orchid (scientific name: Caladenia nana subsp. unita) is a beautiful wild flower. It belongs to the orchid family. You can only find this special plant in the south-west part of Western Australia.
This orchid has a single hairy leaf. It can grow up to three pink flowers. These flowers have short, spreading parts that look like a fan. The pink fan orchid often grows in areas that become swampy in winter. It usually flowers a lot after summer bushfires.
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What the Pink Fan Orchid Looks Like
The pink fan orchid is a plant that grows in the ground. It is a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also deciduous, so its leaves fall off at certain times. This plant is a herb, which means it has soft stems, not woody ones.
It grows from an underground tuber (like a small potato). It has one straight, hairy leaf. This leaf is about 8 to 18 centimeters (3 to 7 inches) long. It is also about 0.3 to 1 centimeter (0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide.
The Flowers
The orchid usually has up to three flowers. Sometimes it can have up to five. These flowers are pale to deep pink, but sometimes they are white. Each flower is about 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) long. They are about 2.9 to 4 centimeters (1.1 to 1.6 inches) wide. The flowers grow on a stem called a spike. This spike can be 15 to 40 centimeters (6 to 16 inches) tall.
The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, curves forward. It covers the column, which is the central part of the flower. The side sepals and petals are short and spread out. They look like a fan. The side sepals are joined together at their bases.
The labellum is the special lip-like part of the orchid flower. It is narrow and has short, blunt teeth on its sides. There are two rows of calli (small bumps) along its center.
Flowering Time
The pink fan orchid flowers from October to November. It flowers much more after summer bushfires. This orchid is different from another similar orchid, Caladenia nana subspecies nana. It has a different leaf and flower size. It also flowers earlier.
How it Got its Name
This orchid was first officially described in 1882. A scientist named Robert D. FitzGerald gave it the name Caladenia unita. He wrote about it in a magazine called The Gardeners Chronicle.
Later, in 2001, two other scientists, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown, changed its name. They decided it was a subspecies of Caladenia nana. They published this change in a scientific journal called Nuytsia.
The word unita in its name comes from Latin. It means "united." This name refers to how the sepals (parts of the flower) are joined at their bases.
Where the Pink Fan Orchid Lives
You can find the pink fan orchid in Western Australia. It grows in the areas between Perth and Bremer Bay. These areas include the Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain, and Warren regions.
It likes to grow in places that get swampy during winter. However, it usually does not flower much in these wet areas. It only flowers a lot if there was a bushfire in the previous summer.
Protecting the Pink Fan Orchid
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at the pink fan orchid. They have classified it as "not threatened." This means that currently, there are enough of these orchids, and they are not in danger of disappearing.
