A rare taxon first found by Doug McCrae at Sweetwater north of Kaitaia circa 1982. Doug sent plants to Dr BPJ Molloy who flowered them in October 1989 at Lincoln. Bruce Irwin saw a three
flowered specimen at D. McCrae's old place at Paranui. Other finds as below.

Description

Plant terrestrial, c.120mm tall.

Leaf green, solitary, linear, V section, curving away from the reddish base, c.40 x 1.4mm, white hairs underneath.

Peduncle green/brown but shading to red in the 2mm below the ovary, clothed in red glandular
trichomes. Floral bract, 5mm long, tightly clasping, greenish with a red fringed upper margin,
at the base of the ovary. Mid stem bract similar to floral bract.

Ovary 4mm long, green with three raised, even width, red sepal ribs, white on the edges and red
on the tops packed with red and white trichomes, all with red glands atop; between the ribs green, sprinkled with red glanded white trichomes.

Flowers 1-3, 12mm high, 8mm wide, unmistakably Caladenia.

Sepals obovate, 3 prominent parallel veins, 2 others less well defined near the margins, white at the base shading to maroon tips outside, cerise inside, outer mid ribs continuing the red lines from the ovary, shading to dark maroon at the tips, giving the buds a distinctive red and white striped appearance with a dark cap. Red glanded white trichomes numerous at the outer bases thinning towards the tips and only 8 or 10 inside at the bases.

Dorsal sepal 6.2 x 1.7mm, erect, curls forward in maturity.

Lateral sepals 5.4 x 2.0mm, drooping, overlapping, deflexed and concave backwards.

Lateral petals 5.4 x 1.3mm, wide, lanceolate, falcate, drooping less than the sepals, 3 prominent, parallel veins, sparse red glanded white trichomes inside at the bases, cerise-pink outside with a darker midrib, cerise tips inside fading to white at the bases.

Labellum 3.5 long x 4.1mm wide, 3 lobed, white with 4 or 5 dark cerise bars across inside including the lateral lobes and one under the disc; two parallel rows of c. 6 red calli down the disc with a cluster at the back, are topped with globular yellow glands; lateral lobes projecting forwards at the top and curved up to partially obscure the column; midlobe 1.5 long x 0.8mm wide, concave upwards at first then downwards some time later, margin undulate-sinuate, bright yellow, one basal marginal callus at each side, flat, obtuse and yellow.

Column arched forward, translucent wings obscured by the labellum side-lobes; broad red bars adorn the lower two thirds, inside and out; a low green callus crosses above and behind the anther, with a tapering red area beyond; anther red above, white below, pollinia white, connective 0.4mm long, acicular, red to white at the tip.