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.

Kirkland Road "going off"

Today I went to check what is happening in Kangaloon (the Orchid capital of the Southern Highlands). At first I thought it was all a bit quiet - just a few Chiloglottis paired leaves amongst the grass and fallen leaves, and then some Corybas leaves, (alas, no signs of buds).

I crossed the road to the eastern side of the road verge (where I seldom find Orchids) and bingo - I was rewarded with some very nice specimens of the Cobra Greenhoods. 

Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

Same species as I found yesterday down on the Belmore Falls Road.

Seen from the rear,
to show the stylish lines of the flower
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

Nice tall specimens (about 20 cm tall) 
and some quite dark ones. 
Very handsome flowers.

Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

Then as I was about to get back in the car I found this huge creamy topped Fungus. It had brown gills and a thick stem which had strongly coloured spore stains on it (as does a younger fungus beside the big one).

I knew that some of the Cortinarius genus have those kinds of indications - especially the strongly rusty-coloured spores. 

This was a huge cap, at least 25 cm in diameter. It was beside the road, but the area is a dense Eucalypt forest, typical Cortinarius habitat. This fits with the description of Cortinarius australiensis in Bruce Fuhrer's Field Guide to Australian Fungi. I was then able to cross-match with the Gallery of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group.

Cortinarius australiensis
note the rusty spore stains and thick stem
and the prominent "stem ring" (annulus)

Cortinarius australiensis
Mobile phone for scale

Cortinarius australiensis
Dark rusty spore everywhere

Cortinarius australiensis
It had a huge cap, more than 250mm wide
Fine gills in perfect arrangement.

Sorry but Blogger insists on showing this image vertically.
Please view by holding your head to the left.
Huge silvery-fawn cap - smooth.
Cortinarius australiensis

It is always damned good when the "sources" help confirm one's Fungus ID.

The return of the Cobra Greenhood

Diplodium grandiflorum, the "Cobra Greenhood" 

is a striking flower 

(pun fully intended, no apologies given).

Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)
showing flared edges of the hood
which earn it the common name.

These lovely plants have just started to flower in a moist Melaleuca thicket below Robertson. This is a regular location for these plants, but I check this site regularly, and they were not in flower last time I visited there, last week.

A young flower in its "Rudolf Nureyev" stage
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

It is not the largest Greenhood I know of, despite its specific name "grandiflorum". Pterostylis baptistii would win that contest. 

But this flower presents beautifully, on a vertical stem of mid-height (today's stems were not particularly tall, about 15 cm), with the sinus open, the labellum visible from the side, and the flared edges of the "hood" (technically the petals - but in effect the edges of the galea or "hood"). Then there are the two erect points of the lateral sepals which stand proud above the flower.

Rear of the flower
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

Points of the flower
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

Side view of the hood,
the labellum in its "set" position
and the open "sinus" with flattened platform
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

This is one of my favourite Greenhoods.
Also, as it is the first of this season, 

to me it is a harbinger of the winter-flowering Orchids
which I expect to see this coming season.
OK it is May, but the winter chills have arrived
and so have the first of these Orchids.

Rosettes of numerous non-flowering plants
Cobra Greenhood (Diplodium grandiflorum)

 These rosettes are really numerous in this area, so they are responding beautifully to the good season we have had, and so I look forward to even more flowers next year.