A few Orchids from Comerong Island

Last weekend the Illawarra Branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society went on an excursion to Comerong Island. See the introduction to this post, for location and geographic information about the Island. It was intended to be an Orchid trip, but we found more varieties of Fungi than Orchids (much to the frustration of my friend Colin Rowan).

We saw literally thousands of leaves of Pterostylis curta and some Pterostylis nutans. None were in flower, unfortunately.

However, Alan Stephenson was on a mission to re-locate a group of variegated Pterostylis curta plants which he had seen a few years previously. This required a  bit of walking along one section of track several times until Alan spotted what he was after.

There were a few, not many, of these unusually marked plants.

Such markings are uncommon, but not unknown. Possibly they were originally affected by a virus (as has famously happened with Tulips), but it seems that these plant markings are stable, not variable, nor likely to be an infection, which might otherwise kill these plants off, (or spread to others around them).

Variegated leaves of Pterostylis curta

Variegated leaves of Pterostylis curta

We then photographed some of the hundreds of Helmet Orchids

which were carpeting the ground

along the side of the track.

Corybas fimbriatus, the Fringed Helmet Orchid

Corybas fimbriatus, the Fringed Helmet Orchid

Corybas fimbriatus, the Fringed Helmet Orchid
A colony of them in the sand dunes, in the Littoral Rainforest

We drove along the single lane track which goes the full length of Comerong Island, out to the wharf at Crookhaven River (the redirected Shoalhaven River mouth). The last kilometer of the track had many deep puddles, but they were on solid bases, so, although a little scary (I had visions of cars getting stuck) Alan pressed through quite successfully. Definitely this last bit was 4WD only.

Acianthus fornicatus
This was one of very few in flower, but there
were literally hundreds of leaves of these plants growing
in certain patches of the forest, especially in disturbed areas
(e.g., where NPWS had bulldozed fallen logs
off the road, and into the forest).

Close to where the hundreds of Acianthus were,
we also found a few late blooming Cobra Greenhoods

Pterostylis grandiflora - the Cobra Greenhood

And finally we found a few very bedraggled,
but recognisable specimens of Bunochilus tunstallii

This Bunochilus tunstallii had collapsed,
and the flower had been triggered closed
but I was able to open the flower
to reveal the diagnostic brown labellum.
Bunochilus longifolia has a
cream labellum with a fine dark brown stripe up the middle.

Acianthella Orchids at Seven Mile Beach National Park

These plants have been known of for at least a year, when they were first reported by Matthew, in charge of a Landcare Group. 

He spoke with Alan Stephenson last year, who inspected the a few of these unusual plants, and concluded that they are a species of Acianthella. Little more is known about these plants, as they have not yet been found in flower.

Today I went with Alan and Matthew to again look for these plants, and we found quite a lot of them - approximately 50 plants in all.

The plants we found today were scattered around on the moist leaf litter of coastal mixed Eucalypt, Banksia and Casuarina forest and rainforest understory species, growing on sand dunes, behind Seven Mile Beach.  

Even for three quite experienced orchid people, they were hard to find.

This was the first of these Acianthella plants I saw today.
The leaf is held well off the ground
above the leaf litter
Growing over moist sand.
The lead surrounds the flower stem,
but it is classed as "sheathing" the stem.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT.
"Sheathing" is illustrated in Figure g
Source PlantNET Glossary

These plants hold the leaf off the ground, just above the leaf litter. 

A non-flowering plant
showing the lobed leaf shape.

A very young, non-flowering plant.
The leaf has not developed the distinctive lobed margins
but it clearly shows the notch
where the leaf is attached to the leaf stem.

Some of these plants had already flowered, but obviously their flower stems are very small, compared to their nearest relatives, the Acianthus genus. We saw lots of leaves of Corybas and Acianthus and many, many colonies of Pterostylis, but the Acianthella are much smaller in leaf and flower than any of those common Orchids. 

Seed capsules clearly visible
CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE.
There are two separate Acianthella plants growing closely together.

The leaves are very distinctive in texture and shape.
They are more or less club shaped (as in the cards of that name).

Juvenile plants sometimes have lobed leaf margins.
In more mature plants the lobes of the leaves can be quite pointed.

Leaf is 2 cm long,
with noticeable points to the leaves.

Leaf is approx 13mm wide.
There are two Acianthella plants growing side by side
Both have set seed.

As yet, we do not have any diagnostic details to identify the species of these plants.
 
The books report that the Acianthella genus is restricted to two species in Australia, and five species in New Caledonia. The Australian ones are one from north Queensland and Acianthella amplexicaulis is reported to extend only as far south as the littoral rainforest, north from Wyrrabalong National Park (just north from The Entrance, NSW).

So, if and when these plants are identified, then it will at the very least be an extension of the range, if the species is confirmed as Acianthella amplexicaulis.
 
However, it is also possible that these plants might be identified, in due course, as a new species in the genus Acianthella. As no flowering plants have yet been found, and recorded, it cannot be identified beyond the genus level at present.

That's a further challenge for next year.

Seven Mile Beach Orchids just starting up

The Orchids of Seven Mile Beach National Park are just starting up their New Season of flowering. By that, I mean the Autumn and Winter Orchids, of course.

The sandy walking track from the main parking area, (roughly opposite Beach Road - coming from Berry) parallel to the beach (and the road) runs for approximately 1.5 Km, and it houses perhaps the most dense collection of Corysanthes (formerly known as Corybas) and Acianthus plants which I know of (over such a large area). We also found some of the Cobra Greenhoods (which I have also found in the Southern highlands in the previous week), a few Bunochilus (Tall Greenhoods) and one lonely Petalochilus pictus (Formerly known as Caladenia picta)

To me, finding this flower, Petalochilus pictus is always exciting
Not only is it very attractive,
to me it represents the precursor, the harbinger,
of the winter/spring flowering Orchids.
It typically flowers from May to June.
The related flowers in the Highlands
flower through to November.

The Corysanthes are perhaps the most interesting for me, as these plants do not seem to grow in the Southern Highlands (to the best of my knowledge).


Corysanthes fimbriatus were just in flower, whereas some Corysanthes pruinosus were still only at the budding stage. PlantNET seems to indicate "Cor. fimbriatus" does grow west, to the Dividing Range, but I have not yet seen it in the local area.

Deeply hooded flower of Corysanthes fimbriatus

The same flower Corysanthes fimbriatus seen laterally.
The base of the flower has an arch (a "boss")
then a fringed rim
The hood encloses the tube
leading down to the centre of the flower

.

Acianthus fornicatus

This is why I referred to it as tall.

The leaves of Acianthus are held on a stem, normally,

but seldom are the leaves as far off the ground as this one is.

Mobile phone for scale shows how high off the ground
the leaf of this Acianthus fornicatus was.

Diplodium grandiflorum
(the Cobra Greenhood)
showing the flared edges of the hood.

Corybas (Corysanthes) Orchids at Thirlmere and Jervis Bay

I wish to show you some Orchids I photographed yesterday at Thirlmere Lakes National Park.


Before showing you the Orchids, though, I must show this photo. It is a composite of a snap I took yesterday, and one that a friend of mine, Angela, took of a family picnic at Thirlmere Lakes in early 1993 (dated by the age of the children).

You need to click on the image to enlarge it. The point of comparison is that what once was a stone wall at the lake edge, is now a wall some 75 metres distant from the Lake. There are Wattles and other shrubs, about 5 metres tall, growing in the dry sand where the lake has receded. Its level has dropped approximately 20 metres. This is a national disgrace.


However, the area is still providing good Orchid habitat. These are Corysanthes fimbriata (formerly Corybas). The Corybas group are known generally as "Helmet Orchids" for reasons which will become apparent as you read on.

Funny little things, they resemble grapes dropped on the forest floor. They are about that size too, 

These were in the wettest part of the Thirlmere Lakes NP, close to the Blue Gum Creek section (about as far as one can go, except on foot). Technically, at this point one is in the Nattai National Park, part of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. In reality, we are still within the Thirlmere area - but there is a definite habitat change in this "far end" of the park. These Orchids were growing in deep leaf litter, in a wet gully, under tall Eucalypts, with some rainforest trees around as well.

Corysanthes fimbriata - face on.

Corysanthes fimbriata -note speckled hood, and fringe visible

Corysanthes fimbriata - viewed just off to the side

Needless to say, everything about the Corybas tribe of orchids involves lying down on the forest floor, to get any decent sort of shots. Fortunately the forest was dry, and the Leeches were all asleep (as befits their Winter Solstice mode), I would hate to do this in summer.


For comparison, here are some related plants, seen at Jervis Bay the week before.

The two sites are similar in one respect. Both are within Sandstone habitats, with deep grey sandy soil. The Jervis Bay site (for the following flowers) is coastal, south from Nowra, the Thirlmere Lakes site is in the heart of the southern "Sydney Basin", close to the Warragamba catchment (see linked "Location" map at the very end of this post - in the red Blogger footnotes).


You can see the Corybas family resemblance. A rounded leaf, flat on the ground, with a funny little hooded flower on a very short stem. Unlike some Corybas species, the flowers of both today's species are open to the outside world, because they are angled back, leaving easy access for pollinators.

These plants are Corysanthes pruinosa

Corysanthes pruinosa - seen from the rear top view.

Note the silvery grey tops of the flowers. whereas the previous ones were dark red and spotty, and very dark inside the flower. Both are heavily fringed around the outside edge of the flower (lower lip).

Corysanthes pruinosa - my best front on view

Corysanthes pruinosa - looking like little spotted "Marbles" on the ground. 

The trick with these plants is to look for their leaves - on the ground. Find them, and then look closely for the flowers. See one, you might realise there are many around.


Unfortunately, my flash unit ran out of battery power at this point and it was way too far to walk back to the car to get spares. So this is the best I can offer.

You'll get the point, however.

I have called these the "Three Wise Monkey" Orchids.

Three Wise Monkey Orchids - Corybas pruinosa.

Perfect grouping.

Completely natural.

Greenhoods at Jervis Bay site

These are yet more ground Orchid species found at the same Jervis Bay site. So just imagine how many plants are there, in total - the Caladenias, the Acianthus (two forms) and these Greenhoods. There were also a few other Orchid species here, but some, such as Corybas (Helmet Orchids)and Bunochilus (Tall Greenhoods) are not quite in flower yet. Speculanthas (Tiny Greenhoods) had finished.

It is an amazing area of plants. So many Orchids in one 200 metre stretch of road - surrounded by so much bush with relatively few Orchids. Why?

Taurantha concinna - the Trim Greenhood
(formerly Pterostylis concinna)

This flower is ever so slightly imperfect.

The "points" are not balanced or straight.

And the "hood" is slightly imperfectly formed.
The flower ought have a slightly more pointed dorsal sepal.

Taurantha concinna (with a particularly blunt hood).

Here is the botanical illustration from PlantNET to show what I mean

about the standard plant being slightly more pointed. 

Taurantha concinna - illustration from PlantNET

Here is the same flower - viewed from the front on.

This flower shows good colour on the front 

(more than I had remembered)

This image shows that the stem is quite rough (almost hairy).

As indicated above, you can see one point is bent over.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

You can see the labellum, which is in fact notched (V) at its top.

That is a diagnostic feature of this species.

(Other Greenhoods have V notches in the Labellum, 

but they look very different from this species.) 
The V shaped labellum is nicely illustrated above.

Taurantha concinnna

Here is the rear view of this flower.

It always seems very neat and "round bottomed"

Rear view of Taurantha concinna

Here is the rosette and the stem emerging from the centre of the rosette.

Note the sandy soil in which these plants are growing.

Rosette of Taurantha concinna

By way of contrast, here is Pterostylis acuminata.

I have shown this flower several times before, this season.

My reason to show it again is by way of contrast 

with the snub-nosed Taurantha concinna.

There were many specimens of Pt. acuminata 

growing along this same stretch of road.

Pterostylis acuminata - with a long pointed labellum 

It is the long labellum from which this plant gets its specific name.

This specimen has very nice balanced points (of the lateral sepals)

The hood is beautifully tapered, 

but not showing the extreme filiform pointed nose 

which some other species show (eg the Antelope Greenhood)

The show of light fawn colour is typical of this species.

As with so many other Greenhoods, 

this one is showing a fine cobweb underneath the flower. 

That indicates the likely presence of a tiny flower spider 

which is probably lurking inside the flower.

A new Orchid (for me) - Anzybas unguiculatus

Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to go searching for rare Orchids with Alan Stephenson, in the Shoalhaven area. We went out along the Nowra to Braidwood Road. Officially this road is designated as "Main Road 92". Locally, (near Nowra) it is known as the "Braidwood Road". It runs out past the Nowra Naval Air Base, HMAS Albatross, and eventually goes out to Braidwood.

The Nowra end of this road is extremely good - one is tempted to say too good for the traffic demand on it - and too good for the fact that in the late afternoon, the country it runs through is prime Kangaroo habitat.

The road runs through a mix of poor sandstone forest, tall Turpentine forest, and some wet schlerophyll (Eucalypt forest) before heading back into shallow soil (mixed Scribbly Gum and Banksia scrub) over sandstone as you head towards Tianjara Falls, on the way to "Sassafras" (the village, not the tree). "Google Maps" names this road "Turpentine Road" at that point (as linked above).

Anyway, Alan and Kirsten and I (all members of the Illawarra Branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society) were taken into some of the side tracks off the Braidwood Road, and after some searching we found a number of these strange little Ground Orchids.

They are now called Anzybas unguiculatus (formerly Corybas unguiculatus)
The specific name means "with a claw" (see the "Dictionary of Botanical Epithets" (a veritable gold mine of a discovery, that one!). If such things interest you, I suggest you "bookmark it" immediately. In fact, from the derivation, it seems the name might be taken to mean the plant has a "finger nail". That works for me.This plant certainly has a covering, like a nail, over the labellum, which is long and tubular. Most dissimilar from the other members of the Corybas tribe I have seen, and from which it has now been "split" by Jones et al. (See explanatory note by PH Weston on the top of that page).

You can see the hooded flower, and the long open tubular labellum
in this pair of images below.

You can clearly see the opening of the labellum here.

Here is the botanical illustration from PlantNET.

You can see the hood or shroud over the top of the labellum
(on the right hand side of the image).
The central section of the flower is the labellum.

This is what the plant looks like, from above.

The two little whitish flares behind the flower are actually fairly distinctive. But depending upon the angle you are looking
they are more (or less) apparent. These plants were well protected by an army of these
yellow-striped Leeches which sought to draw blood from the three of us.

I know they scored at least from two of us. I itch like crazy from the bites of these creatures.

More Orchids from Jervis Bay region

Well, having shown you the "Pretty as a Picture" Orchids yesterday (Petalochilus pictus), today I will show you some odds and sods.

Interesting little Orchids, but some are so small and so hard to figure out what side is up, that you might well wonder about them (or me). I find these crazy little plants totally fascinating.

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

Lets start with a Green form (technically classed as an "Alba" form) of Acianthus fornicatus. "Pixie Caps". Basically it lack the red pigment, leaving the plants green tissues as the only colour.

These plants were thick on the ground, in the same area as the "Pictus". There are about 25 flower spikes in this 'frame".
Their "heart shaped" leaves nearly cover the sandy soil.

There is a small fern, a few tufts of grass, and lots of dead leaves on the ground. The rest are these green Orchids.

OK - so this is an normal form of the same species.
You can see that the flowers are nearly transparent,
so they are not strongly pigmented at the best of times.
Their flowers are highly reflective.
The rounded hooded flowers give it the provocative Latin name,
which apparently in botanical Latin means "arched or bent over".
Next we come to the Corybas group of Orchids.
Corybas aconitiflorus is even more "hooded over" than the previous plant.
This is a dark red coloured specimen.

It is known in English as the "Spurred Helmet Orchid".
That name makes more sense if you see the flower as botanical artists do,
on a table, in a laboratory.
(Source: RBG PlantNET)
In the bush you only see the top of the flower.

Here is a more normal coloured plant,

with a greyish purple hooded flower.
These plants are quite small, leaves less than the size of a 20 cent coin
and the flower is the less than half size of a regular snail shell.
Here you can see one flower against my fingernail.
That might help you get the scale.
Another Corybas, and a rare one at that.
Corybas undulatus.
It has lightly toothed edges of the labellum.
Click on the image to see the fine details of the flower.
This plant is on the southern most limit of its distribution,
where we saw it, near Jervis Bay.
Its hood (dorsal sepal) is held more open than the previous species.
Both Corybas species here are ground-hugging plants.
From above you can see that the side of the flower is flared out.

These plants were not numerous. There are just three visible here.
They were growing in a muddy drainage line in typical sandstone scrub.
Eucalypt upper storey and many Proteaceous shrubs.
And now to more familiar Orchids, Greenhoods.
If you are a traditionalist you may refer to all these as Pterostylis.
Pterostylis acuminata
Here she is poking her long tongue out.
The rosettes of these plants nearly covered the ground,
but just for about one metre.
There were only a few flowering plants.

The next species is now known as Taurantha concinna
To my mind, this plant has an attractive "bum"
when viewed from the rear.
It is at its most striking when viewed up close - from the front.
Click the image to enlarge it to full viewing size.
Only then will you see the forked labellum.
The pollinia are just visible
in the back of the throat of the flower (behind the labellum).
This specimen is showing quite a lot of red in the front of the flower.