Side View of Flower Photos by Colin Rowan and his Retired Aussies Website

EARLY

Common Name The Common Caladenia - Early Caps

Flower Size 3/5" [1.5 cm]

Found mainly in western Victoria, Australia, Anglesea District, at elevations of 50 to 450 meters in open forests with shrubby understory as a miniature sized, cold growing terrestrial orchid with a single, thin, narrow, linear leaf that blooms in the early spring on an erect, to 5.2" [13 cm] tall, 1 to 4 flowered inflorescence.

CAUTION - This species is said to be a synonym of C dimorpha of which it is similar but I have left it separate for now pending new references.

Synonyms Caladenia testacea var. praecox (Nicholls) Nicholls 1939; Stegostyla praecox (Nicholls) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. 2001

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 drawing fide; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 as Stegostyla praecox photo fide

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