Caladenia lorea
Caladenia lorea, commonly known as the blushing spider orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single, hairy leaf and up to three cream, pink and red flowers and often hybridises with the white spider orchid ("Caladenia longicauda") producing intermediate forms. Description. "Caladenia lorea" is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, hairy leaf, long and wide. Up to three cream, pink and red flowers, long and wide are borne on a stalk tall. The sepals and petals have thin, light brown, club -like glandular tips, long. The dorsal sepal is erect, long and wide and the lateral sepals are long and wide. The petals are long and wide. The lateral sepals and petals spread widely near their bases but turn downwards nearer their tips. The labellum is long and wide and pink with a dark red tip which curls under. The sides of the labellum have thin teeth up to long and there are four rows of dark red calli up to long in the centre. Flowering occurs from August to early October. This species often hybridises with "Caladenia longicauda" producing a  range of intermediate forms. Taxonomy and naming. "Caladenia lorea" was first described in 2001 by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Phillip Brown from a specimen collected in Cockleshell Gully near Jurien Bay and the description was published in "Nuytsia". The specific epithet ("lorea") is derived from the Latin word "lorum" meaning "strap" or "thong" referring to the long "clubs" on the sepals and petals. Distribution and habitat. Blushing spider orchid occurs between Yanchep and Leeman with an isolated population south of Bunbury, in the Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions where it grows in areas that are  wet in winter. Conservation. "Caladenia lorea" is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.