Corunastylis sagittifera flowers on 1 April 2014, in Kangaloon, NSW

More Orchids, of course. 

These are not as late as I first thought. I have seen them in mid-April,

But I have also seen this same species in flower in the last week in January 2011.

So, clearly they are variable in flowering time, dependent upon the seasons.

Here is a Facebook album which is accessible to all - no need to sign in for anything.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152725111779829&set=oa.615394361886031&type=1&theater

Summer flowers along Kirkland Road, Kangaloon.

Here are some flowers from along Kirkland Road, Kangaloon.

Bauera rubioides
This is a naturally occurring "double" variety of this plant.
There are a  number of such plants with double flowers
growing in this area.
Normally the plants have single flowers.
(Meaning just a single row of petals,
and stamens in the centre.)
This plant appears to have staminodes, not normal stamens.

There is an open album on Facebook, which anyone can see.
You do not have to be a member of Facebook to see these photos.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152500210924829.1073741881.809229828&type=1&l=fd14d12c3c

Rainy Carols, Foggy day to follow.

The Tourist Road Oval Christmas Carols and Picnic was held yesterday, despite a light drizzle.

The Wukka Plukkas, a local Ukelele group

Margaret Whatman and Lucy Palmer
the driving forces behind the Tourist Road Oval carols.

This morning I read the rain guage, and recorded 9 mm overnight. Then it rained some more during the morning. Then a heavy fog rolled in.

Green foliage glows in low light

The new growth on the Bunya Pine
always fascinates me

Another new crop of Orchids for this spring.

Three new Orchids for Kangaloon, this Spring. There has to be a first flowering for everything. This is it for these three "Caladenias".

Stegostyla moschata
Tourist Road, Kangaloon.

Stegostyla transitoria
Tourist Road, Kangaloon.

Petalochilus mentiens
Tourist Road, Kangaloon

Albino Magpie still going strong in Kangaloon

I wrote about this bird in January last year. Comments I received indicated that the bird was actually quite well known to the local residents of Kangaloon.

I have not seen it over the last year, until a week ago, I spotted a small white figure across the brown paddock where the grass has been sprayed prior to ploughing and planting - presumably in preparation for a new crop of Potatoes.

I saw it again today, as I drove down Kirkland Road, heading towards Tourist Road. It was on the far side fo the paddock.

Subsequently when I drove back up the road, the Albino Maggie had moved a lot closer.

Albino Magpie was now closer

A cropped image showing the bird quite clearly.

As albino birds are reputed to have a poor survival rate, I am publishing this to show this bird is still going strong.
It seems to always be on its own, despite the fact that the dairy and potato fields near by are well supplied with regular Magpies. Jill (one of the locals who commented last year) reported that this bird was very aggressive and in fact, seemed to chase regular Magpies away.

Late Summer Orchids are flowering their heads off.

We had a dry spring and summer, until it rained in late January (the result of a Tropical Cyclone washing down the NSW coast as am ex-cyclone). Locally, Carrington Falls had all but ceased to flow. Then it suddenly kicked back into gear. The groundwater is the important point here. Tiny Orchids need moisture in the soil, and if that is not there, the Orchids will not move.
I got 177 mm in 3 days in late January and 227 in 4 days in late February. The bush has bounced back.
And now the summer/autumn Orchids are blooming, whereas they were not even visible two weeks ago.

These little orchids, some as small as 50 cm (2 inches high) are often hard to find in the grass.
One tends to try to remember where they were last seen and to mark them with natural features, such as a couple of bits of broken tree branches, or small stones. Nothing too obvious, of course.

Corunastylis rufa
Red Midge Orchid.

Corunastylis fimbriata
Fringed Midge Orchid

Corunastylis sagittifera

Corunastylis densa

Speculantha parviflora
Tiny Greenhood - seeming the "Type"
of this confusing genus.

Brown form of Speculantha parviflora.
As yet not named as a separate species.

Close-up of brown form of
Speculantha parviflora (as yet un-named species)
Not the differences between this and the true species above.

• gentle curved line of "sinus" (front of flower)
  it does not have the bulging front.
• These flowers start out dark brown, almost black on top
• They age to a brighter red colour on the hood.
  See this image of a tight group with old and fresh flowers

Lovely "Spiral Orchid"
Spiranthes australis

Nice triple-flowered specimen of
Eriochilus cucullatus

Close-up of Eriochilus cucullatus

Springtime in Robertson - photos and coming Weekend Events

I was asked to take photos of the Waratahs in the Robertson Common, which is the precinct of Robertson Heritage Railway Station

Magnificent Waratah flower
Telopea speciosissima - NSW Waratah
Probably the "Cultivar" known as Fire and Brimstone
which comes from the local (Kangaloon) catchment areas.

I have uploaded a bunch of photos I took while walking around the main streets of the Village.

Some are of common garden plants, (some would call them "weeds").
Forget Me Nots, Herb Robert, "Honesty" (Lunaria) and then some photos of the Cherry Trees in Hoddle Street (otherwise known as the Illawarra Highway). But it is the Waratahs which steal the show.

Double-flowered Cherry Blossoms
in the main street of Robertson

In between, there are photos of the Railway Buildings (which are recognised as being of historic significance), and also the Fettlers Shed Gallery.

https://picasaweb.google.com/113268294402913437731/SpringtimeInRobertson11October2012

This weekend will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the opening of the "Mountain Railway" - from Port Kembla (the steel works) to Berrima Limestone quarry, originally owned by Sir Cecil Hoskins.
I still find it extraordinary that Sir Cecil, a director of the Australian Iron and Steel managed to persuade the State Government to pay for the railway line between his Limestone Quarry and his steel mill and port at Port Kembla. And the knighted him for his efforts!

• "After complex negotiations in 1927 the State government agreed conditionally to build a railway connecting Port Kembla with the main southern line at Moss Vale, and construction of a blast-furnace and deep-water wharf began."

In these days, I cannot imagine such a deal going through. Instead of giving Sir Cecil a knighthood, he would probably be charged with insider trading or something.
However, this "deal" however shady it might seem to me, today, would probably seem completely natural and even desirable to the likes of Gina Rinehart or Clive Palmer.

Anyway, for better or worse the Railway runs through Robertson (almost exclusively as a Freight line these days),  and as a Tourist line for special occasions, such as this weekend.

 See the details on the Robertson website.

 There will be Open Gardens you can enjoy visiting too.

a delightful delicate pale pink
Double-flowered Cherry Blossom

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.

Scorpion Fly - some interesting facts about them.

I have seen these insects on a few occasions, but the other day I got a pretty clear image of one of them - clear enough to decide to post about them.

Click to enlarge the image - to see it in detail.

A Scorpion Fly or Hanging Fly.

The Chew Family has an excellent pictorial coverage of these insects.

At first I thought my insect was a "Black Crane Fly" which I have seen previously when certain Orchids are in flower - a seasonal link perhaps.
But when I got a good look at it, I knew these amazing hooks on its legs were very distinctive. It had to be something different.

My memory told me to check "Scorpion Fly" on the Brisbane Insects and Spiders Webpage.
Bingo - up came those amazing images and their "back story" of how they capture their prey.
Fascinating.

Corunastylis apostasioides rampantly in flower at present

Corunastylis apostasioides is famous for being a plant which seldom bothers to open its flowers, in order to get pollinated.

It is not alone in that - a number of other Orchids are said to be self-fertilising***, if conditions are not right for the insects.

But this plant is so completely hairy inside the flower itself, that it seems it has abandoned some of the regular sex organs. I cannot comment upon that, as obviously that requires microscopic analysis, and someone knowing what it is they are looking at or looking for, to make those pronouncements.

Corunastylis apostasioides - labellum open.

As an observer, I can say however, that this week, a humid week, I have seen more Corunastylis apostasioides flowers open than I have ever seen before.

Corunastylis apostasioides - normally shy to open - has 3 open flowers.

*** PlantNET says of this plant: "Flowers cleistogamic or opening to c. 5 mm across, yellowish green with a reddish labellum."

The PlantNET glossary says:

cleistogamous: of flowers that remain closed and are self-pollinating and set fertile seed.

So, there's a Word Challenge for you.

Huge colourful Swift Moth at Butler's Swamp.

On Friday I was at Butler's Swamp (just on the roadside verge, folks), in Kangaloon. I noticed this amazing moth sitting low down in the grass and rushes there.

I am familiar with the large Swift Moths which come to my porch light and windows on wet nights, especially. Usually Oxycanus dirempta.

But this one seemed different - larger, heavier, fatter and with deeper wings than any I had ever seen before.

Also, all my previous ones had some silver marks on the wings, but the patterns vary considerably.

All photos today are provided by 
my Orchid colleague, Alan Stephenson.

Ignore the dark lines on the wings

They are shadows from the grasses and rushes
in which this moth was hiding.

Its wings are plain fawn coloured.
No silver stripes.

Abantiades hyalinatus - a "Swift Moth" or "Ghost Moth"

Anyway, I sought advice from Dave Rentz, who said he thought it was an Hepialid Moth, but flicked the question on to Ted Edwards, from CSIRO's Australian National Insect Collection.

The answer came back that it is indeed a Hepialid moth, Abantiades hyalinatus
 

Indeed, my moth matches some shots from Donald Hobern's gallery.

But a quick look at the link below will show you why I did not recognise it at first. Look at the variability of this species of Swift Moth.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=25401497@N02&z=t&q=Australia+Abantiades+hyalinatus

It sure makes it hard for the amateur when they have wing pattern markings which are "optional".

I was not surprised when David originally suggested Hepialidae, but could not find matches in the Australian Moths on line page for this species.
http://www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/v/Hepialidae/Abantiadeshyalinatus/
Ted's comment about the colour fading (after the specimen dries out) explains that.
 
But I still think it very unsporting of these Moths to have optional patterned or plain wing markings.

Many thanks to both Dave Rentz and Ted Edwards.

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

Although we were out and about searching for Orchids (and we found some good ones), the Moth "find" tended to be the discovery of the day.

What happened was that when I spotted the moth 

we all gathered around to take photos.

Then I decided to try to pick up the moth, gently, 

as many large moths appear not to be too troubled by being handled.

Side on view of head, and neck of Abantiades hyalinatus

When I did pick it up, it immediately started flapping.

That revealed this amazing underneath colour.

Clear lilac hind wings.

Abantiades hyalinatus - hind wing colour

And not only were the wings this lilac colour

So was the body!

Amazing.

Abantiades hyalinatus with lilac body revealed

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

Lest you think too badly of me, dear reader, 

for having disturbed this creature,

here she is, after I released her. 

She flew straight back down into the grasses and rushes

and grabbed hold of a stem, 

just as she had been doing when I first found her.

(I have assumed the sex to be female, mostly because of her size

and also her relatively fine antennae - but I am NO EXPERT.)

You can see the slight hint of lilac even there.

I am not sure what the large black dots are

on the abdomen.

Presumably some kind of gland or other organ.

If anyone can advise me, I would appreciate it.

Underneath view of Abantiades hyalinatus

Once again, I express my gratitude to Alan Stephenson for the photos.

I can now reveal that on the day I was busy 

hanging on to the Moth during the "flapping shots"

and afterwards, 

I was totally bewildered by my encounter with this wonderful moth

and so could barely hold my camera straight.

Post Script: Regular readers will have noted that when Blogging about Moths I frequently link back to Donald Hobern's Flickr Gallery of Australian Lepidoptera (as I have done today).

Well today, Donald advised that "Friday was my last day working at CSIRO as Director of the Atlas of Living Australia (http://www.ala.org.au/). I am moving for a few years with my family to become Director of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (http://www.gbif.org/) in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm already suffering withdrawal pains at the thought of leaving the Australian fauna for a few years, but I'll be back and I plan to keep working on the Australian plume moths in my spare time."

Donald Hobern.

It is appropriate therefore for me to thank Donald publicly for the excellent service he has provided via his personal Photo gallery, and also via his role as Director of the Atlas of Living Australia. 

I hope that he will continue to make his photo gallery available to us, as a reference service.

And I hope that the Atlas will continue to grow, and develop to its full potential. It is a service which has attracted the interest of many naturalists as well as professionals in the various fields of Natural History.

Corunastylis formosa (???)

Two days ago I published a post proclaiming that I had found a "new" Midge Orchid - new for me - that is.

Right and wrong.

Ah, the perils of Blogging, folks.

Yes I had found a "new species for me" 

but unfortunately I had given it the wrong name. 

Corunastylis formosa (not Corunastylis filiformis)
(Even that name requires confirmation.
It is possible that this is an as-yet unnamed species)

I had proclaimed that the species was Corunastylis filiformis. My Orchid-chasing colleague Colin Rowan (from RetiredAussies.com) emailed me to ask "are you sure?"

My answer was that NO, I was NOT SURE.
(I became less sure as I looked further and further into the original ID)

We swapped notes and I also communicated again with Alan Stephenson, who was able to provide a copy of the Orchadian description of another species, Corunastylis formosa, which, from P. 180 of David Jones's big Orchid book, looked a "better fit" with my plant.

• The Orchadian, Vol 13, No 7 Published March 2001.

This is a copy of that illustration by David Jones, 

originally drawn on  4 December 1994.

Click to enlarge the image, 

to allow you to read the notes, 
and to see details of the illustration.

Note the text gives the name as Genoplesium formosum.
It has since been revised by Clements and Jones
in the Australian Orchid Name Index
as Corunastylis formosa.

Jones illustration from The Orchadian, from the original "description"

In order to resolve the true Identity of this plant, I decided I needed to collect a specimen, which will be forwarded to Mark Clements, at CSIRO, for verification of this ID, and to formally record the location of these plants at Butler's Swamp, Kangaloon, NSW.

So, why am I so sure that what is growing in Kangaloon
is Corunastylis formosa?
(I am no longer as sure.
But if it is not that species, what is it?
It has appeared early in the season,
in the same location for the last 3 years).

Corunastylis formosa (possibly) at Kangaloon.

The first point I wish to address is the habitat in which this plant grows. 
My flowers are growing on the edge of Butler's Swamp, Kangaloon
They are growing in the open, 
amongst grasses and some rushes
on black soil.
Some of them are found in deep moist peaty soil,
typical of an "upland swamp" over a sandstone rock substrate.
Altitude at Butler's Swamp is 640 metres. 

(Legal Note: these plants at Butler's Swamp are 
located immediately outside the "SCA's Special Areas")

Jones described his type specimen as 
"growing amongst shrubs on or close to the edges of montane swamps;
less commonly amongst grass bordering rivulets and other small streams.
Soils are  moist brown to blackish loams.
Altitude 750 - 800 m."

He also gives the etymology of the name "formosa"
as "from the Latin, formosus, finely formed, handsome,
in reference to the striking flowers and dense inflorescence."

Jones, D.L. The Orchadian, Vol 13, No 7 .... March 2001.

I wish to make the point about the similarity of habitat for Kangaloon
and the "type locality" as described by David Jones.
Altitude is high at Kangaloon (640 m), 
but not quite as high as Wadbilliga or Cathcart.
But compared to many other Corunastylis, 
both these groups of plants 
(Jones's "Type specimens" and my plants) 
must  be acknowledged as "growing at altitude".
  
Also the soil and habitat preferences appear similar for both sites.
Importantly, this is an unusual locality and habitat 
for other Corunastylis species I have located in this region
prefer locations, on dry soils or exposed rock shelves.



And now to the flower details:

The lateral sepals look like pointed "horns" poking out.

In situ, these lateral sepals tend to be held horizontally.
The dorsal sepal has no hairs along the edge
and the Labellum is coarsely hairy.
The labellum is also quite broad and "stiff" (i.e., it is not motile***)
as distinct from Corunastylis fimbriata, for example.

A single flower of  Corunastylis formosa (???) - isolated

To see the flower clearly, (isolated from others on the stem)
I severed the ovary and the flower from the stem.
Compare this image with the Figure "d" 

in the illustration above.
(Ignore the shadow lines)
Click to see the details.

Corunastylis formosa (???) petals and labellum visible, over the dorsal sepal.

Back to the Identification of this plant. 

This flower has the same "structure" as described by David Jones within his  Corunastylis Group 2: "Dorsal Sepal hairless, petals hairless or with a few long hairs labellum broad with long coarse hairs." Jones. op cit P. 179

Compare this plant with the following related plants which I have previously reported and photographed. These are all grouped together by Jones in his "Group 2" (for Corunastylis).

1. Corunastylis plumosa, the Tallong Midge Orchid - which grows on harsh, dry rock shelves, under dense low shrubbery.
2. Corunastylis sagittifera, the "Horned Midge Orchid" which is a much paler flower, with a light-coloured labellum.
3. Corunastylis formosa, the Cathcart Midge Orchid - this flower.

In order to study the flower's parts in detail
I dissected one flower.

Here is the Labellum.

You can see the coarse hairs on the labellum closely

and the two pale sections are the "callus" on the labellum

That callus is illustrated clearly in David Jones's illustration above

See figure "e" in the centre of that illustration.

Labellum of Corunastylis formosa (???), showing the "callus"

Here you can see the "dorsal sepal" (between my fingers)
with the column exposed (showing the pollinia)

Click to enlarge the image.

The dorsal sepal and column of Corunastylis formosa  (???)

This is a significant extension of range(???) for Corunastylis formosa. 
Kangaloon is a long way north from Wadbilliga National Park and also from Cathcart, NSW. Google Maps shows Cathcart is 380 Km south (by road). Wadbilliga NP is 280 Km south from Kangaloon (by road). So this locality record is a significant extension of range for this species.

My friend Martin Butterfield has provided a map to show the relative positions of  Cathcart, Wadbilliga and Kangaloon.

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

Orchid chasing works best when it is done collaboratively, I find.
So I wish to thank Colin Rowan and Alan Stephenson for discussing the ins and outs of this ID with me, and Alan for providing the text from the Orchadian in which David Jones first described this species. That Journal is not available "on line" unfortunately. Martin Butterfield, who like me, is a plant chaser, and a fellow Blogger, and someone else who lives "in the bush" and so is familiar with the need to help people know where exactly we are talking about, has sent me a map with the three locations for this plant marked.
Thanks everybody.

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

*** motile: actively moving; self-propelled. (PlantNET)

The labellum of Corunastylis fimbriata "flutters" in the slightest breeze, or if one blows on it. This species (and many others) have a stiff labellum, which does not move.