![Cyanicula sericea, Orchidaceae Orchids with blue flowers are rare in the orchid family. Australia has several terrestrial genera which can have flowers with this rare colour. These include Thelymitra and Cyanicula.
Cyanicula sericea is a common species that grows in the high rainfall areas between Esperance and Jurien Bay, south-west Western Australia. It grows in a variety of habitats that include eucalypt forests, coastal Banksia woodland and granite outcrops.
Plants are usually found growing exposed to bright light. The plant produces a single soft silky-hairy leaf from an underground tuber and the upright inflorescence can bear up to 3 (rarely 4) flowers. Its flowers face the sky. I have only ever seen them with a single flower. Variable in colour, the blooms may be blue to violet or rarely white.
This species was first described as Caladenia sericea. With the help of molecular studies, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown separated into its own genus Cyanicula [comprising 11 species] in 2000.
Cyanicula species are similar to Thelymitra in that they are usually temperature sensitive, requiring warm weather to open. The flowers tend to partially close during cool, cloudy weather - unlike other Caladenia.
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognised Cyanicula for several years before reverting back to including Cyanicula as a synonym of Caladenia.
I prefer to recognise Cyanicula as distinct.
Reference: Brown, A., Dixon, K., French C. & G. Brockman. (2013) Field Guide to the Orchids of Western Australia. Simon Nevill Publications, York, Western Australia. Australia,Geotagged,Silky blue orchid,Winter,sericea](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3510/74673_small.JPG?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=PvqyCmuXvVaXCuieo%2F3GV9dvxF0%3D)
Appearance
''Caladenia sericea'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single soft, densely silky leaf, 50–120 mm long and about 20 mm wide. Up to four pale blue or mauve flowers 30–50 mm long and 30–40 mm wide are borne on a stalk 150–400 mm tall. The dorsal sepal is erect, 20–30 mm long and 5–8 mm wide. The lateral sepals and petals have about the same dimensions as the dorsal sepal. The labellum is 10–15 mm long, 7–10 mm wide and spotted with purple. The sides of the labellum curve upwards to surround the column, and the short tip curls downward with short teeth on its sides. There are four or six rows of purple calli along the mid-line of the labellum. Flowering occurs from August to early October and is much more prolific after summer fires.Naming
''Caladenia sericea'' was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley and the description was published in ''A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony''. In 2000, Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown changed the name to ''Cyanicula sericea'', but in 2015, as a result of studies of molecular phylogenetics Mark Clements changed the name back to ''Caladenia sericea''. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "silken" or "silky" referring to the silky leaf.Distribution
Silky blue orchid occurs in the higher rainfall areas of Western Australia between Jurien Bay in the north and Esperance in the east, in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions, growing in forest, woodland and on granite outcrops.Status
''Caladenia sericea'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.Habitat
Silky blue orchid occurs in the higher rainfall areas of Western Australia between Jurien Bay in the north and Esperance in the east, in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions, growing in forest, woodland and on granite outcrops.References:
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