Caladenia radialis, commonly known as the drooping spider orchid, is a species of orchidendemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and one or two red and cream-coloured flowers. In good seasons it forms clumps of up to ten plants.
Caladenia radialis is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and which often forms clumps of up to ten plants after good rainfall. It has a single erect, hairy leaf, 50–180 mm (2–7 in) long and about 6 mm (0.2 in) wide. One or two red and cream-coloured flowers 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long and 40–80 mm (2–3 in) wide are borne on a stalk 150–350 mm (6–10 in) tall. The sepals and petals have long, brown, drooping thread-like tips. The dorsalsepal curves forward and is 25–45 mm (1–2 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The lateral sepals and petals have about the same dimensions as the dorsal sepal although the lateral sepals are slightly wider. The labellum is 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, 8–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide and cream-coloured with red lines. The sides of the labellum sometimes have a few short teeth, the tip is curled under and there is a dense band of red or cream-coloured calli along the mid-line. Flowering occurs from August to early October.[2][3][4]
^ abJones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 112. ISBN1877069124.
^ abcBrown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 161. ISBN9780980296457.
^ abHoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 78. ISBN9780646562322.
