Caladenia hirta subsp. hirta
subspecies of plant
Caladenia hirta subsp. hirta, commonly known as the sugar candy orchid or candy orchid, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single leaf and up to three creamy-white or pink flowers with brownish tips and a brown back.
Description
Caladenia hirta subsp. hirta is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and which usually occurs as single plants. It has a single hairy leaf, 60–200 mm (2–8 in) long and 6–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) wide which lies flat on the ground. Up to three (rarely six) flowers 30–50 mm (1–2 in) long and wide are borne on a spike 100–600 mm (4–20 in) tall. The flowers are creamy-white to pink on the front with brownish tips and a brown back. The dorsal sepal is erect, 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide. The lateral sepals and petals are 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) long and 2.5–7 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide with the sepals wider than the petals.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Caladenia hirta subsp. hirta” as subspecies of plant. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as subspecies of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q26238639. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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This entry incorporates text from “Caladenia hirta subsp. hirta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.