Flying duck orchid.

Auf einen Blick

Pflegestufe

Schwierig

Pflanzenart

Terrestrial orchid

Licht

Partial shade

Licht im Innenraum

Hell, indirekt

Gießen

Alle 5 bis 10 Tage

Endgröße

20 to 50 centimeters

Wachstum

Langsam

Winterhärte

USDA 9 bis 11

Blütezeit

Late spring to early summer

Pflege

This orchid requires a specific symbiotic fungus in the soil to survive. Keep the soil moist during the growing season and allow it to dry out during the dormant phase. Watch for signs of rot if the soil stays too wet for too long.

Gießen

Keep the soil consistently moist while the plant is actively growing.

Düngen

Use a very weak balanced liquid fertilizer during the active growing season.

Schneiden

Remove dead foliage only after the plant has entered full dormancy.

Umtopfen

Repot during the dormant season to avoid damaging the sensitive tuber.

Boden

Well draining sandy loam

Boden-pH

Acidic

Temperatur

5 bis 25°C

Luftfeuchtigkeit

50 bis 70%

Sicherheit

Menschen

There is no evidence of human toxicity, but it is not considered a food plant.

Kinder

The small, delicate structure of the plant makes it unsuitable for handling by small children.

Essbarkeit

This plant is not edible and should never be consumed.

So erkennst du die Pflanze

• Flower resembles a duck in flight
• Single reddish brown flower
• Small solitary basal leaf
• Slender wiry stem

Höhe

0,2 bis 0,5m

Breite

0,05 bis 0,1m

Blätter

green, deciduous

Blüten

reddish-brown, green, 2 bis 3cm

Häufige Probleme

• Root rot — Fungal decay caused by overly wet soil conditions during the dormant period.

Standort und Pflege

Vermehrung

seed

Pflanzzeit

autumn

Keep this plant in a specialized orchid collection rather than a general garden bed.

Gute Pflanzpartner

• Eucalyptus — These trees provide the dappled shade and leaf litter environment the orchid prefers.

Ähnliche Arten

• Caleana minor — It is a smaller relative with a similar duck-like flower shape.

Botanisches

Familie

Orchidaceae

Gattung

Caleana

Ordnung

Asparagales

Klasse

Liliopsida

Ursprüngliche Heimat

Eastern and southern Australia

Artenschutz

This orchid is protected in many parts of its native range and should never be collected from the wild.

It grows in eucalyptus forests and woodlands where it depends on specific soil fungi for nutrient exchange.

Nutzen für Wildtiere

specialized pollination mechanism

Bestäuber

Bienen

Verwendung

ornamental curiosity, botanical interest

Taxonomie abgeglichen mit GBIF.

Häufige Fragen

Can I grow this in a pot?

It is extremely challenging to keep alive in containers due to its strict fungal requirements.

Why did my plant disappear?

The plant is deciduous and naturally dies back to its underground tuber during the summer.

Woher der Name kommt

The genus honors George Caley, an early botanical explorer in Australia, while the species name major refers to its relatively large size compared to other species.

Gut zu wissen

• It is commonly called the Flying Duck Orchid because the flower looks like a duck in flight.
• The plant is notoriously difficult to grow in cultivation.
• It relies on a specific mycorrhizal fungus in the soil to survive.

Auch in

• Pflanzen für den Schatten