Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells
Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis
Showing posts with label Thelychiton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thelychiton. Show all posts

Sunday, September 15, 2013

It has actually rained in Robertson (September 2013)

Well, by my records, the last time  we had decent rain in Robertson, was in the last week of June.
Since ten we have had 17 mm in July, and a mere 1.5 mm in August. At long last, we have had 21 mm over the last 3 days. It won't play "catch-up" but it is a start.

I had the pleasure of accompanying two British visitors and their Australian friends for an Orchid tour of the Southern Highlands on Saturday. They were Dr. Colin Scrutton, a retired Professor from Durham University and his wife Angela. They were accompanied by two Australians, John (another geologist) and Ross, an Orchid enthusiast. Colin had contacted me months ago, via the Internet, because he had Googled "Bird Orchids" and my Blog came up.

So we were on a promise - to find Illawarra Bird Orchids.
Illawarra Bird Orchid
Simpliglottis chlorantha
Fortunately, it was a successful mission. In fact, the season has been beneficial for many early flowering Orchids (late Winter, and early Spring seasons). I knew there were some in flower, but in fact we found literally hundreds of plants and at least a dozen in flower. Far more than I had ever seen before (even though the weather was not particularly favourable),

Illawarra Bird Orchid
Full plant (note the paired leaves and sandy soil).

As the visitors were staying on the Shoalhaven coast (could they have decided to stay further away?) I arranged to meet them at the base of Cambewarra Mountain. That way I could show them some of the other Orchids on that mountain.

Thelychiton epiphyticus
Tree version of the Sydney Rock Orchid
which has been re-classified as a separate species.

 My guests were very impressed with the next Orchids we looked at.
A magnificent tall spike of
Prasophyllum elatum

Close-up of Prasophyllum elatum
The Tall Leek Orchid
Note the pollinia dislodged from the flowers
but which were not stuck on an insect.
In the battle to achieve pollination
I would have to score this
Insects 2: Orchids 0 .


Next stop was Macquarie Pass.
I showed them the few remaining flowers where Alan and I had been the previous week, looking at remarkable colonies of Prasophyllum erecta, and Prasophyllum hildae. Even with very tired flowers, the size of these colonies was still impressive. I was able to show them some fresh flowers elsewhere on the Pass, so they could get decent photos of the hildae flowers.

And we moved on to Tourist Road, East Kangaloon to see the Pterostylis x ingens - a naturally occurring hybrid.

Pterostylis x ingens
In between those "highlights" we saw many other species as well - far too numerous to mention here.
At this stage, we decided to call it a day.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Orchids from Nowra and Cambewarra Mountain

This morning I rang Alan Stephenson to check on the weather in Nowra.
We have had such cold, windy weather in Robbo that I was very uncertain that it was going to be worthwhile making the trip down to the Shoalhaven. But Alan assured me it was warm and sunny,

I am glad I went, for I found a number of interesting Orchids.



Hymenochilus bicolor
Formerly Pterostylis bicolor
Growing in Nowra Cemetery


Prasophyllum elatum
These plants on Leebold Hill
have green leaves and
black flower stems.
The buds are just visible,
They come out creamy colour.


Pterostylis erecta


Speculantha vernalis
This spring flowered species
of Speculantha

is distinct from the regular
summer and autumn flowered species.
Alan Stephenson has persuaded
the Federal Authorities

to list it as Critically Endangered
because it is so highly localised.



The epiphytic form of the
Sydney Rock Orchid
it grows so high in trees on
Cambewarra Mountain

that it is very hard
for me to photograph.

You can just make out
the long flower sprays.

Thelychiton epiphyticus



Dockrillia pugioniformis
Petalochilus alatus
Fairy Caladenia
This tiny Caladenia
is very sweet, but hard to find
and harder to photograph properly.

 An unusual magenta colour form of Glossodia minor

beside a regular colour form on right
Glossodia minor













Sunday, September 30, 2012

ANOS trip to Bullio

I have uploaded a Picasa Album to enable easy viewing of the main Orchids and a few other plants and an unusual Moth, we saw today, at Ken and Leonie's place today.
https://picasaweb.google.com/113268294402913437731/BullioPhotosSeptember302012#


A close-up of Ken's plant
Oligochaetochilus hamatus
(formerly Pterostylis hamata)
 We found this delightful "Red Passionflower"
Another plant I have not seen before.
Passiflora cinnabarina
However, I must commend Daniel for showing me a small group of Cyrtostylis reniformis a plant which I had never seen before, and one which I had hoped to find at Black Mountain, in Canberra last week. Success at last. Tiny little plants, barely visible amongst the grass and ferns on the side of a steep hill. Thanks Daniel.
Cyrtostylis reniformis
The tiny little Gnat Orchid
Hard to see, even harder to find.
The other plant I was thrilled to see was Oligochaetochilus hamatus (formerly Pterostylis hamata).Ken has grown this plant (which I used to get the first couple of close-up shots) but I was tickled pink to see this plant in full flower "in the wild".
Oligochaetochilus hamatus
(formerly Pterostylis hamata)



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Sydney Rock Orchids (or are they?)

I am told that once upon a time, the rocky ledges around Sydney were covered with "Rock Lilies" (as they were known to the early settlers). They are of course, Orchids - Dendrobium speciosum (the Sydney Rock Orchid).

Sadly the rock ledges around Sydney  no longer are festooned with these spectacular flowers. There is a huge issue with illegal collection of Orchids from "The Bush".

Currently one can drive around the coastal towns and cities of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions and see spectacular plants of the Sydney Rock Orchid in flower in people's front gardens. Albion Park, Nowra and Kangaroo Valley all spring to mind as places with examples of plants growing happily in gardens.

Unfortunately, it is precisely because of people's fondness for these plants in gardens, they are now a rare sight in "The Bush".

It is of course, illegal to collect these plants from the Bush, but it is a difficult matter to police and administer.
Anyway, best not to dwell on the "sins of our fathers".
The same story can be told of Christmas Bells, which were once picked in their thousands, for sale in flower markets (where the sale of cut flowers is now specifically prohibited).

*****

The good news is that I can acknowledge that in some remote (and obviously un-nameable) patches of National Park lands in the lower Shoalhaven Valley, the Sydney Rock Orchids still thrive in their original (natural) abundance.
Dendrobium speciosum - on rocks
Here is a zoomed image of the same plant
Dendrobium speciosum

***************
Here is another issue.
Does Dendrobium speciosum grow on trees?
Well, yes it does!
Or does it?

*******************

Here is a fallen flower which 
at Minnamurra Rainforest reserve.
Fallen flower of Thelychiton epiphyticus
Colin's discovery led to us photographing 
the plants growing 
high in the rainforest canopy above.
Thelychiton epiphyticus at Minnamurra Nature Reserve

But if it grows on trees, is it still a Rock Orchid?
If so, is it another species?
Serious (and qualified) Orchid experts 
have debated this question for many years.
Jones and Clements argue that it is, 
and have renamed it as Thelychiton epiphyticus

That link still uses the "old name" 
but it does recognise this plant
as a different sub-species.
So, even the conservative botanists who control PlantNET
acknowledge it as a different plant, 
and accord it sub-species status.
That's a start.

This tree form of this Orchid
grows on Cambewarra Mountain
high on a rainforest tree.
Thelychiton epiphyticus (flower spray on right)
Here are some images of other, even more impressive plants, of this species growing at Minnamurra Rainforest (near Jamberoo village), part of the Budderoo National Park. The Minnamurra Rainforest is noted for its spectacular wet gorge and waterfall, and the rainforest trees. This shot was taken with a 300 mm lens. So that gives you some idea of how tall this tree is.

The flower sprays are circled in red to show where they are.
Thelychiton epiphyticus at Minnamurra rainforest.
Long may these magnificent plants survive - far out of reach of collectors.
 
 
 
 
Personal disclaimer:
I am growing one Sydney Rock Orchid plant
(a small division from an original plant) 
which was given to me by a friend who owned
a federation house in Mosman which was being sold.
After some discussion, it was decided 
to save the plant from possible destruction, 
as the new owners were planning major renovations.
The magnificent original plant was divided
and shared out to people who promised to look after it.



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