Send in the clowns

Starting to get towards the end of my orchid adventures for 2021. As I’ve moved further east the orchids have been thinning out and they are getting harder to find in these lower rainfall areas. I still have quite a few photos from the last week or two to post though here I’m going to concentrate on clowns, Caladenia roei.

Well at least I think they are clowns, they could also be Caladenia brevisura, short-sepalled spider orchid, to me they look almost identical and they cross over in the areas they grow.

Clown, I hope.

When I first saw these I wasn’t impressed rather small and simple, not showy and flashy like so many of the other species. Hey when you have the magnificent lazy spider orchids around why would you give these little guys a second look. And while we are on the subject of lazies, who was responsible for naming these, the lazy spider orchid is an architectural marvel.

Any excuse to post another picture of them. So they are a lazy spider, and this is a clown spider?

Clowns

These look like they have hardly put any effort in, as if they are just lounging back stretched out with big bellies, their arms spread wide saying “come on fertilise me”. Couldn’t be bothered getting dressed up, no fancy colours, no frills, just get on with it.

But they grow on you, even if they do look like big droopy lazy things. 🙂

Clowns

And although they are only small, they often stand on fairly tall and slender stems.

They put on a good show when you get in close to them.

And they look great when there are a few all together. Though they can look like a bit of a shambles when they are crowded and getting passed their prime, these almost do look like a bunch of clowns.

I figure this next one is perhaps not a clown because of the lumps on the labellum, though apart from that it looked the same.

I know, I know, it’s a lot of pictures of an orchid that I say I’m not particularly fond of, but they have been there in the background for almost a couple of weeks now in many places I’ve gone. While the other flash orchids have grabbed my attention, these have been there and I’ve taken their photos but just haven’t posted any pictures of them till now.