Caladenia christineae

Caladenia christineae is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, hairy leaf long and wide. Up to four flowers are arranged on the flowering spike, each flower long and wide. The flowers are creamy-white or creamy-yellow with lateral sepals, and petals that are held stiffly, spreading widely from each other. The labellum is cream coloured and has narrow teeth on its margins. There are four or more rows of pale red calli along the centre line of the labellum. Flowering occurs in September or October. ==Taxonomy and naming==

Caladenia christineae was first formally described by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown in 2001 from a specimen collected near Rocky Gully. The description was published in Nuytsia. The specific epithet (christineae) honours Christine Hopper, the wife of the co-author of this orchid's description. ==Distribution and habitat==

Christine's spider orchid is known from 28 populations between Yornup, Bridgetown and Mt Barker in the Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions. ==Conservation==

Caladenia christineae is classified as "vulnerable" by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The main threats to this species are fire between May and November, weeds, salinity, clearing, road maintenance and grazing. ==References==