Australian native terrestrial orchids

[Darren]

Thelymitra 'Sleeping Beauty'. A prolific flowerer and good increaser. Lovely rose scent too.

[fermi de Sousa]

I don't grow these orchids in my garden but have a few pics I've taken elsewhere!
These bird orchids (Chiloglottis ? valida) were growing in the saw-dust paths at a friend's place in  the Dandenongs!






We stopped along the roadside near Bendigo last week and took pics of these "Lady's finger orchids"






and some "Wax-lips", Glossodia ?major,


and a donkey orchid (Diuris)! I'd not seen one in "the wild" for many, many years, though they were common where I grew up.




cheers
fermi

[Ragged Robin]

Fermi, what a great sight in the sawdust!  It really is amazing where plants will grow.  I imagine the shavings hold the moisture below the surface?

and a donkey orchid (Diuris)! I'd not seen one in "the wild" for many, many years, though they were common where I grew up.

This is cute and SO amusing once you focus on the lashes on those eyes 

[DaveP]

I'm quite surprised at the tenacity of certain Australian ground orchids.  5 years ago, I bought a 2m. live trunk of the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica from one of our local DIY sheds at a ridiculously, impossible to refuse price.  It was planted in dappled shade in the border where it grew away and continues to thrive.  For the first year or so, Acacias (mainly melanoxylon) germinated from seeds that had become embedded between the frond bases as well as a few no-ID ferns.  These were removed to prevent any compromise to the fern while it was settling in.  The tree ferns were tagged with their origins stated as being Victoria, Australia and I understand that many grow in association with Acacia melanoxylon, which accounts for these 'hitch-hikers' appearing when the ferns are transplanted to UK gardens.

In late summer 2008 I noticed a rather unusual, dark sea-green, ovate leaf about 3cm long and 1.5cm across lying flat against the trunk just below the crown.  It was quite unlike any other Australian 'weed' that I'd seen before so I left it to develop further.  Within a few weeks, a new leaf started to develop and realising that the danger of predation from a passing slug or snail was too great, I decided to try and grow this unusual interloper in more controlled conditions. With the aid of a screwdriver, I carefully dug down through the trunk fibres and frond bases to remove as much of the shoot as possible.  Unfortunately I wasn't careful enough because all that came away were the leaves attached to a 4cm long section of fleshy white rhizome and no root.  

The shoot was brought indoors, inserted into a small pot filled with chopped sphagnum moss, covered with a polythene bag and sat in a saucer of water.  It was kept shaded from direct sun and water was topped up when it had evaporated away.  After about 6 weeks, another leaf started to appear, quickly followed by another indicating that this new 'no-ID plant' had recovered from being extracted and was settling in to its pot.  Growth continued slowly through the winter and by spring there were 6 leaves forming a single rosette on the surface of the compost.  By early summer, the leaves started to die away confirming my suspicions that it was probably a winter growing plant that became dormant in summer.  I carefully removed the plant from its pot and teased out the moss.  I discovered several sparse, white, fleshy roots attached to short sections of rhizome together with a pair of pea-sized tubers.  The lot was left intact and returned to the pot for a few months.  I kept the compost very slightly moist and waited.

In late August 2009, growth resumed with 2 new shoots appearing.  I changed the compost to a mixture of chopped moss, leaf mould, loam and charcoal, but used the same pot.  The shoots formed a pair of rosettes with 6 or 7 leaves each and by late autumn, another pair of shoots started to appear.  By now I was fairly certain that this was one of the ground orchids, but which one?  I'd have to wait for flowers to be certain, but I was more or less decided that it was one of the Pterostylis or 'Greenhood' orchids.  In December, the flower spikes appeared in the centre of the two main rosettes, one more advanced than the other and the newer shoots were also growing quickly to form smaller rosettes.  The first flower opened in January - it was Pterostylis pedunculata aka Maroonhood on account of the crimson-maroon hued flowers.  The second flower opened a week or so later and the smaller rosettes flowered a few weeks after that.   Not bad for a terrestrial orchid that had been completely detached from its original roots only 18 months before.

This summer there were about 8 pea-sized tubers amongst the roots and I moved the plant to a larger pot, where it resumed growth after 8 -9 weeks of dormancy.  Growth has been very strong so far with about 14 new shoots jostling for space - I've not given it a large enough pot.  I'm expecting quite a show of flowers early next year and will transfer it to a shallow pan at the next repot.  This is not a beautiful or eye catching species, but the flowers are fascinatingly intricate when viewed closely.  It's a true 'Ozzie back-packer' that turned up in my 'back yard' and while I would never have bought this orchid, I'm now very pleased to have it.

Dave Poole

Autumn 2009


December 2009


January 2010


Close-up


September 2010

[rob krejzl]

Certainly looks like pedunculata, which is noted as an occasional epiphyte on Dicksonia (but then what doesn't grow on a Dicksonia). I have a key for Tassie Pterostylis which includes pedunculata. PM me if you'd like me to email you a copy to confirm the ID.

[BULBISSIME]

Pterostylis x toveyana is the first to flower in the greenhouse
Can somebody confirm the identification ?

[Darren]

Hi Fred,

This looks like P. coccinea to me (now a Diplodium unless they've changed their minds again....).  X toveyana is a hybrid between alata and concinna  and has quite tubby green flowers in all the pictures I've seen. Your flower looks too red and, to be honest, rather more elegant in appearance!

[goofy]

hello,
the first to flower for me this autumn are

Pterostylis X furcillata



and a little bit closer



enjoy

[Gail]

The aliens surrender?? 

[fredg]

Fred

I have to agree with Darren, your plant looks like Pterostylis coccinea (Diplodium coccinum).
My P. x Toveyana isn't quite open yet , I'll post when it is.
For reference this is a photo of my P. coccinea.

[BULBISSIME]

Thank's for reply Darren and Fred, and thank's to P christian for labeling.....
I like this Alien genus which grows and increases quite easyly

[fredg]

This is the plant I received as Pterostylis X toveyana
It is a little different to my P. coccinea but not like the photos I've seen of the plant online.

[daveyp1970]

Fred it looks like Bulbissime got his from the same source as yours,i would phone him up and inquire.

[daveyp1970]

Pterostylis obtusa

[BULBISSIME]

Diplodium truncatum is flowering now.
I hope this is the right name as it also comes from P Christian