Scientific Name: Caladenia prolata

Common Name: white fingers

Family Classification (Clade): Monocots

Family: Orchidaceae

Threatened Species Status: Endangered

Permit: It is an offence to collect, disturb, damage or destroy this species unless under permit.

Form Description: Medium sized finger orchid. Leaf linear, dark green, red base, sparsely hairy. Scape relatively stout, sparsely hairy.

Height (m): 0.12 – 0.24

Flowers: Flowers 1-2, dull white internally, greenish with red bands and densely hairy externally, labellum pink with narrow dark red transverse bars, apex pale yellow, calli lemon coloured, column greenish with red transverse bars. Self pollinating.

Fruit: Papery capsule

Municipality
Flinders
Plant Communities
Coastal VegetationDry Eucalypt Forest
Habitat Notes

Highly localised, growing on coastal sandy soils, often in association with grasstrees on islands in the Furneaux group.

Site Tolerance

Exposed, Moist

Soil Tolerance

Clay, Loam, Sandy, Well-drained

Frost Tolerance

Tender

General Notes

Maybe intolerant of high fire frequency.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Specialist Method

Seed Information

Seed Treatment Notes

Orchid seeds are very minute yellow, brown or blackish dust-like particles. Orchid seeds are produced within a capsule that splits at maturity and releases thousands to millions of seeds. Dispersed by wind and water and only germinate following infection of the embryo by a suitable mycorrhizal fungus. Very few seeds become mature plants. For more information see Jones, Wapstra, Tonelli, Harris (1999): The Orchids of Tasmania.