PINK FAIRY

(Caladenia latifolia)

This is a small, pretty, erect orchid 15-30cm tall; you can find it around from August to October. The flowers have 5 outer petals, with a 6^th petal in the centre being modified to form a tongue with three lobes. Two of these lobes are rounded, the middle (third) one is that pointy bit of the tongue. The outer petals are bright pink (hence the name!); the tongue petal, though, is multi-coloured. There is an orange tinge to it, and some orange bumps (these are glands) while a fringe on the tongue is white. The outer edge of the flower is a bit hairy, but the long, lance-shaped leaves are REALLY hairy all over, front and back! The stem holding the flower up high is also hairy. We’ve seen these orchids at Cape Jervis, but also in the Adelaide Hills. Maybe there are some near you!