Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells
Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

More Orchids of Springtime.

At the risk of boring my readers, here are some more Orchids of springtime.
It is a busy Orchid flowering season, so this means busy blogging. In turn that means I cannot "do" these Orchids in the full detail which I would normally like to do.
Glossodia major - from Black Mountain (Canberra)Here is a low angle shot to reveal the details of the "column".
Click to enlarge the image.
Note the extreme hairiness of the stem.
This is true of the leaves as well.
Here is a cropped image of the "column"
The white patch of hairs on the "labellum" is very clearly visible.
Click to enlarge image.
Here is Pterostylis nutans - the famous "Nodding Greenhood".
The lower portion of the "galea" (the hood) is nearly transparent.
This is a subsequent image of Petalochilus fuscatus.
I posted several images from Black Mountain plants a few days ago.
This is from Kangaloon (in the Southern Highlands).
Please click to enlarge the image to check the dark, hairy back of the flower.
That is one of the diagnostic features of this species plant - from which it gains its name - "fuscatus" means "Dusky".
I shall have to go back to get a better photo of this feature.
This is Stegostyla moscata (formerly known as a Caladenia sp.)
And from a slightly lower angle - to see into the hood.
This shows the pollinia held high within the tip of the column
(within the hood)
There are 4 rows of "calli" - the glands on the labellum.
This shows the side profile of the flowers
and the hairy outside of the dorsal sepal.
Here is a sign of things to come - a pink Sun Orchid.
This one is not quite open.
With the wild weather of the last 24 hours, this one will not have opened.
I shall go back and check again soon.
These plants are shy to flower - they require perfect conditions.

3 comments:

mick said...

The orchids are all beautiful and your photos - as per usual - are great. I keep thinking that there are places around here where there would possibly be orchids to find - BUT - then the tide and the weather are perfect and the shorebirds are sitting on the roosts - and off I go out there! It would be nice to have time to do both.

Junior Lepid said...

Well, you're not boring me, Denis!

Thanks for your ID explanations.

Interesting to note the difference in colour shade between our Glossodias! Growing conditions and soil type, no doubt.

I haven't been able to get out much lately. Weather conditions plus garden jobs here that cannot wait! Next week, hopefully.

Denis Wilson said...

Good morning Mick and JL.
Thanks for your comments.
Spring is a busy season for all of us, it seems.
Too much happening to keep up with it all.
Oh, well, that's why we specialise, I guess.
For example, I am still photographing moths, but have not posted a single image in months. Too hard to do the IDs.
Cheers
Denis