Under the Grotto

Down along the Belmore Falls Road there is a rough Fire Trail through the State Forest which leads to a favourite spot for Robertson locals. There is sandstone rock shelf there, where the Barrengarry Creek was forded by the early settlers. This ford is no longer passable, and trees have fallen, blocking the route.

Up stream from the ford is a broad pool. It looks like a great spot for Platypus and Azure Kingfishers, but I have never seen either of them in this pool, alas. I have seen the wonderful small Kingfisher at Belmore Falls road crossing (once). Anyway, today I went to explore the wonderful Grotto which is about 200 metres downriver from the old ford. It is a shallow waterfall, dropping about 3 metres over a curved rock shelf. There is a shallow pool below the falls, then the creek runs over more flat rocks, before resuming its quiet flow through deep pools. The creek is surrounded by rainforest plants, and masses of ferns .I had hoped to find some plants of Diplodium pulchellum, the Illawarra Greenhood, but alas I did not. However, I did find the Waterfall looking very photogenic (and the morning was pleasantly warm), and so I crawled in under the overhang of the water to achieve these few shots. It took some experimentation to get the exposure right for this shot to "work". As it is, the water is overexposed, but it is the best I could manage this morning. I wanted you to be able to see the underhang (the cavern behind the falls), and more importantly, the mosses and ferns and the "Rainforest Spinach" growing in under this "room".
I was also pleased to photograph the flowers of Fieldia australis. This plant is not uncommon, but it is a wet area specialist. But this is seen to advantage here. The plant is growing on a vertical rock wall, immediately behind the cascade of water. Normally it is seen in wet rainforest gullies, growing on moss-covered rocks or tree fern trunks, in places like Knight's Hill, or in the deep gullies of Upper Kangaroo Valley. Forgive me for only photographing this plant with my long lens. I was not that dedicated that I was going to walk right out into the flow of the Falls, to get closer. The long cream tubular flowers are clearly visible, and are unmistakable. Habitat, and flower shape make this a complete identification "fit". Apart from ferns and mosses, the other local plant which grows in this situation is the so-called "Rainforest Spinach". Its leaves and flowers are very different. The Native Spinach is growing closer to the lip of the falls, actually growing in the stream of water, whereas the Fieldia is growing behind the wall of water. It is interesting to note that Fieldia is related to the Gesneriad family, which includes many well-known "indoor plants", Gesneriads and also "African Violets".

When I see this plant growing, I am always reminded of those old-fashioned Butchers Shop windows which were cooled by running water. If only old butchers had known about this plant their shop windows would have been so interesting.

Orchid Hunting in the Southern Highlands

Today I was pleased to be a guide in Orchid Hunting in the Southern Highlands, for Colin and Mischa (of the famous "Retired Aussies.com" website - which I regularly refer to for their fabulous Orchid photos), and Alan Stephenson, the Conservation Officer for the Australasian Native Orchid Society. Colin and Mischa normally reside in Victoria, but were passing through the Highlands today. Alan, with whom I have done a little Orchid hunting previously, was keen to see the green form of Chiloglottis sylvestris I wrote about a few days ago.

As Colin and Mischa are southerners, Alan and I showed them a few flowering specimens of Diplodium pulchellum, the Illawarra Greenhood. This is one of the few genuinely "endemic" local Orchids, so I knew it would be a good one to start with, as they could never see this plant in Victoria. I was able to show them some in a typical habitat, near a waterfall, and also several specimens (long past their prime, but still identifiable) growing in a muddy creekbed, in really dense dark shade, under Melaleuca scrub. Alan was interested to see this species in this non-typical habitat.
Next we went into another patch of dense Melaleuca scrub, also in a creekbed, to see the green form of the Chiloglottis sylvestris, which I wrote about two days ago. Because I knew these plants were unusual, and knowing Colin and Mischa would be coming up today, I had marked the general location of these plants. I found my tag, but could not see the plants. I was very despondent. Had a passing Swamp Wallaby paused for lunch, and eaten these plant? Surely I (or they) could not be that unlucky? Anyway, after searching high and low, with no success, we pushed on, and 20 metres further along the creekbed, Misca suddenly called out: "There's some leaves here, and green flowers". Sure enough Mischa had rediscovered my plant from two days ago. And, yes I had placed a second marker there, but it was so well disguised, we found the plants before I noticed the marker! I don't like leaving markers*** anyway! But, I felt pleased we had found these unusual plants - and at least my honour was restored!

Mischa lining up a photo of the
Green variety of Chiloglottis

Mischa, not content with having found my plants, went on to find a number of other specimens of these green form of the Chiloglottis sylvestris. These latter plants were deeply hidden under Coral Fern and other ferns, still within the thicket.

Having had a successful hour or so, we returned to Robertson for lunch at Three Creeks Cafe, where Bernie joined us. Then we went to Tourist Road. I saw a Swamp Wallaby beside the road near Mount Murray, and a very fine Copperhead Snake quickly turned and cleared off the road, also in the wet forest, on the eastern end of Tourist Road. Colin and Mischa, in the car behind saw the snake, as I swerved to dodge it (there was no other traffic).

We then stopped briefly at Butler's Swamp, and Colin was very impressed with our tall and strongly coloured "Ladies Tresses Orchids" (Spiranthes australis). We also found a few Horned Orchids, (Orthoceras strictum) (which I had not previously seen in this location.)
There were also a few flowers of Small Tongue Orchids amongst the bark litter, under some Scribbly Gums.

Kirkland Road revealed some nice specimens of Chiloglottis seminuda, and also C. reflexa. I have written about these plants previously.

Colin is using a 10 power hand lens
to inspect a Ch. seminuda flower
Mischa is waiting to photgraph the flower.

We adjourned towards the western end of Tourist Road, and within moments of getting out of our cars we saw two different species of Corunastylis, the "Tiny Greenhoods" (Speculantha sp. aff. parviflora) I have written about these plants recently. There were several Greenhoods, growing in dry grass, beside the road. As yet I have not worked out what species these are.

There were many, many Parsons' Bands Orchids (Eriochilus cucullatus) growing here, as well.

We examined closely some specimens of Corunastylis apostasioides (I believe it is this species).

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

It is certainly very different from the other Corunastylis I have shown you recently. Indeed the flowers of this species are so tiny, it looks like a little bit of "fluff" on the end of the somewhat swollen ovaries which these relatively tall Corunastylis Orchids have. The other species of Corunastylis growing here has a regular sized flower for this genus, with lateral sepals spreading about 15 mm wide. The C. apostasioides flowers (if that's what they are) do not spread their lateral sepals at all - instead they lie tightly beside the dorsal sepal.

As weird Orchids go, this one is pretty "out there".
The "Labellum" is fully reflexed, and very hairy.
The Dorsal Sepal is in the centre of the flower, and also very hairy.
It is much smaller than the labellum.
The two lateral sepals lie close beside the dorsal sepal.
They do not spread wide, as in the neighbouring Corunastylis species.

Finally, we adjourned to The Gib, to examine some very nice specimens of Diplodium coccinum, and also some nice tall specimens of Acianthus exsertus

*** The temporary markers have now been removed!

An all green Chiloglottis !

Is this an oddity, a colour break, a "partial-albino"? I do not exactly know.

Today I found a small colony of Chiloglottis growing in a damp area under a Melaleuca squarrosa thicket in a creek-bed. The area is on a sandstone plateau, and surrounding the creekbed thicket is dense Eucalypt forest and Proteaceous shrubbery. Outside of the thicket is a dense surrounding growth of coral fern. Parts of the thicket are permanently wet (creekbed) with Sphagnum Moss beds. Other areas are simply thick beds of leaf mulch from the Melaleuca trees above. So, what we have is a dense, dark and wet creekbed. At ground level, the shade is probably rated at about 70% shade cover.

In an area about 200 metres from this site,(across the road, in the same creek) is a similar thicket, where there is less leaf mulch, and the creek has a fine mud base. Over there Chiloglottis sylvestris grows. But having just inspected those plants, immediately before finding these plants I could immediately see these were different. The standard C. sylvestris plants have all now closed their flowers, following pollination. These plants appear to be a little larger than the regular C. sylvestris plants, but they are totally green, whereas the regular plants have stems and flowers which are reddish-purple, with black and purplish-red "glands". These plants are all green. Even their glands are green, but in different shades of green.
I have only photographed a single flower, but there is a second flowering plant, which is just opening. It is also going to be fully green.

Examining the shape of the glands in close detail it is apparent that these have the same shape and "distribution" on the labellum as C. sylvestris, but they are lacking the dark pigment. Also, in this flower, there are no dark spots on the base of the column (the tall part of the flower holding the pollinia). This may be contrasted with the lower photo of C. sylvestris (below).
Here is a similar angled view of the labellum and glands of one of the regular C. sylvestris plants from across the road, 200 metres further down the same creek.
This next view shows the regular C. sylvestris in profile, with the glands highlighted, appearing almost transparent. The shape of the main callus (gland) is not divided in the "head", unlike C. reflexa and C. seminuda, both of which occur in the Robertson region, but which prefer drier habitats in Eucalypt forest over sandstone soils.So, on the basis of the shape and distribution of the glands on the labellum of today's plant I conclude that these plants are a green variant of Chiloglottis sylvestris. But it is noteworthy that, although separated by only 200 metres from the other plants, and in a slightly different habitat (moss and leaf mould, instead of a muddy creekbed) these plants are flowering a full month later than their neighbours.

*****

This morning I received the following note from Alan Stephenson, of the Illawarra Branch of the Australasian Native Orchid Society:

• Congratulations you have found an alba form of C. sylvestris. "Alba" normally means white but the same genes which produce white flowers also produce green flowers and they are considered the same. Last year I found an alba form of Nemacianthus caudatus and I have also found an alba form of Eriochilus cucullatus. Most species can produce an alba form but these are not common, although I have seen quite a few alba flowers of Glossodia major and Glossodia minor but never a Chiloglottis. The more you look the greater variety of flower types you will find.

I like Alan's concluding point - the more you look the more you will find..... So true, and such a thrill to find something unusual like this.

Denis

Greenhoods - late summer brings "promise".

The local Greenhood Orchids are starting to flower. Well, I should say that the late summer and autumn-flowering varieties are starting to flower.
The first Greenhood which I found in flower this new season is Diplodium pulchellum, the so-called "Escarpment Greenhood". This particular plant was budding in late January, and was open on 31/1/2008. Others are still developing in another location, not far away. This specimen is not growing in the typical habitat for this species, adjacent to or underneath a waterfall (i.e., within range of the spray drift from a waterfall). This one was growing in a muddy creekbed, alongside some of the Chiloglottis sylvestris plants about which I wrote recently. In this photo above, you can just make out the "labellum" of the flower - held inside the hood. The labellum of Greenhoods is a sensitive organ, and it moves forward or backward in response to movement, or typically, the presence of an insect. This is part of the pollination process of these flowers. When they sense an insect is inside the flower, the labellum snaps back against the column (within the hood) to try and trap an insect where it will brush against the "pollinia". In the case of this particular flower, although I saw it on 3 separate days, I never saw it with its labellum "set" in the forward position.

Close-up of the labellum,
showing its "notched" appearance.

This plant was difficult to photograph because of its location in a Melaleuca thicket (you will have noticed that I was using a flash on all shots, because it is so dark in this area). When you consider that there is a little creek flowing through where these plants are growing, the reality is that one has to get "down and dirty" to take these photos. Oh, and did I mention the Leeches? DJW 1: Leeches 0 on this occasion. I saw the little blood-sucker coming!

In fact this flower was knocked over when the creek level rose, after heavy rain. You could describe it as a mini-victim of a mini-flood.Still, this plant is slightly better off than the Chiloglottis plants nearby which were actually underwater for about 3 days. But then again, all these occurrences are natural, and so presumably these plants (both species) have adapted to these conditions, for they flower in February, in Robertson, which is our normal summer rainy season. So they must expect the occasional inundation.

I shall write more over the next few days about other Greenhood species which are just coming into flower now.

More Orchids coming along

Firstly, let me say that Blogging has its rewards.
Today I was contacted by a lady in the Southern Highlands, with photos of an Orchid she had found at her place, and asking me to help identify it. Fortunately, I was able to help. Anyway, it is nice to know that people out there (who I do not even know) are checking my stuff on this blog, and that they feel as curious about the plants in their area (especially Orchids) as I do. I was pleased be able to assist this lady with identifying her plant.

As a matter of interest, her Orchid is a species which I have never seen - so I am jealous of her discovery!

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

In my own neck of the woods, I am monitoring a new Greenhood plant which is just about to open.I have some guesses as to what it might turn out to be, but I cannot be sure until the flower opens properly. Clearly it is a Diplodium, (from the tall stem, with "stem leaves"). Then there is the obvious brownish red colour already visible. And the long curved "hood". The two "points" are just starting to separate from the main part of the flower. they will probably end up standing high over the flower. To see what I mean, compare this photo with the last photo (at the end of this post). Trouble is, sometimes Orchids become food for a passing Swamp Wallaby, so I have taken a few photos at this stage, in case it gets eaten before it opens. It has happened to me, before! As you can see from the photo above, the front of the flower has a distinct bulge, and the front of the flower is still closed. Until that part of the flower (the "sinus") opens up, and the "labellum" is visible, I really do not have enough information on which to identify this plant for sure. Also, the angle at which the entire "hood" ends up sitting is important. These plants start out vertical - in bud stage - and as they mature, some bend forwards, others always stay more horizontal.

Also I am monitoring a small group of Wasp Orchids in the same area. All I know is that I found these plants last year, just after they had been pollinated - and the flowers had closed over (these Chiloglottis species flowers close as soon as they have been pollinated, to protect the sensitive parts of the flower. So it was impossible for me to positively identify the species by photographing it. And, at that stage I was not experienced in identifying these tiny flowers (not that I claim that, yet) - but I am better placed this year than last year. So, I am looking forward to checking out my "guess" at identifying these plants (last year).

Chiloglottis (Sp???) - leaves and bud developing

And, what do I think my Greenhood (above) might turn out to be?
Well, possibly it will be the same as this plant. Maybe.There are definite similarities in form, and leaf bracts on the stem. But until this new flower matures, I will not know for sure. You can now see why I was talking about the angle at which the hood ends up sitting. This one is clearly bent very strongly forward - especially if you realise that the photo was taken with the stem bent slightly back beyond the vertical, so I could see into the "sinus" of the flower, so one could see the "labellum" inside - a critical identifying feature of Greenhoods.

I checked where I found the plant (above) last year, and the plants are there, and growing, but as yet, there is no sign of flowering stems, or buds. So, why is this new plant, which is in a very dark, sheltered spot flowering ahead of those other plants? And there is the issue of a very different habitat from this species, and the new plants. Maybe they are not the same species after all. Time will tell - provided the Swamp Wallabies do not interfere.

Creeks behind Fountaindale Road

Narrow creek cutting
Down in the tall Eucalypt forest, below Fountaindale Road is a track which leads to a deep creek.

Today Jim showed me the way across the creek, via a steep, but passable, set of rock steps. Above this crossing point is a still pool called "Lorna Doone's Pool" - something straight out of my childhood reading.






Moss covered rocks
The creeks above this wonderful pool rush down through a series
of very narrow crevices, between moss-covered rock faces.

In some places, these cuttings were 15 metres deep, but they were too hard to photograph with any perspective.







Still pool, above the cascades
Further up the creek, the ground levels out and a still pool mirrors what little light was shining this afternoon.






Jim stepping across the creek
At a shallow point, we could easily step across the little creek.







A Moss Garden
Having crossed the creek, we went thougha patch of TeaTree Scrub, and found this wonderful little Moss Garden, in a small, open glade.