Orchids: a couple more from the East

I have added an image of a Flying Duck orchid at the end of this.

Having dipped on the ANPS trip last Wednesday (but having a great walk with COG at the Hall TSR) Frances and I and the small dog took ourselves to Back Creek TSR (SW of Braidwood) to check out the purple Diuris orchids found there.

Although the name 'Back Creek' could be taken to suggest some dampness was likely this year I was surprised just how much liquid there was around.  I don't know if the small dog was surprised but she certainly appreciated it rolling around in the first bog and taking a full-on swim in the second.   The bogs were well endowed with a very tall yellow flower that appeared to be growing from a plant with spatulate leaves.  Very pretty, but not identified by us.

There were masses of Chrysocephalum apiculatum (and various other daisies).  There was also a mass of chocolate lilies Arthropodium fimbriatum - in much greater numbers than 4 days earlier. I have no idea why I didn't take an overall picture of this.  After some threshing around we found one of the patches of Diuris punctata lurking in some Kunzea parvifolia.  Note: this area was very well supplied with purple/mauve plants.  (Also very well supplied with Microtis sp - onion orchids.)

Here follow a couple of images.  First up a side on shot of mine (hint - it is a crop-out as I couldn't persuade my camera to focus on the main flowers).
Next is a nice front on shot by Frances from Wednesday.
We headed back towards Captains Flat and stopped off briefly at a small church to let Frances nail a photo of a lily which had not cooperated on Wednesday.  The mauve-ness here was Patersonia fragilis - which I always mis-identify as an irchid (a typo, but I like it) when first I see it.

On, on to Captains Flat cemetery to inspect Gastrodia seasamoides,  Common Potato Orchid (or for those of a poetic disposition , Cinnamon Bells).  There were a large number of plants in this colony.  The images start with a habitat shot, close in on part of the colony and close with an in-your-labellum shot (but not as much so, nor as knowledgeable as this post.).




On the following Wednesday (24 November) the ANPS walk was to the NE section of Nadgigomar National Park to the NE of Tarago.  The most interesting orchid seen there was Caleana major, the Flying Duck orchid.

Comments

Denis Wilson said…
Hi Martin
Thanks for the compliment, (but unfortunately the link does not work).
Your season surprises me. The Purple Donkey Orchids at Tallong finished at least 3 weeks ago.
But the yellow flowered bog plants may be Villarsia exaltata
Really pleased to see your Potato Orchids. They really do look different to mine, which helps confirm my ID of G. procera and also yours of G. sesamoides.
PS: Don't tell Le Loup where they are, he might want to come down from Armidale to try to eat them. He is into "wilderness survival skills".
Cheers
Denis
Flabmeister said…
Denis

I have no idea what happened to the link: I have repaired it and it tested OK now.

Your suggestion of Villarsia exaltata looks pretty good. Many thanks.

Martin

Popular posts from this blog

A tour of the West (part 1)

Insects from pine trees

Satin Bowerbird gets ready for Lanigans Ball.