Another Leek Orchid - Prasophyllum australe

Last week I received a call from Alan Stephenson asking if I could possibly go to Jervis Bay to meet another friend of his who had reported seeing a Prasophyllum which Alan had not seen. This is more or less Alan's "home turf". Alan wanted some "diagnostic images" to confirm the identity of this species. Alan has an injured leg, and is still wearing his "space boot", and cannot get out and about.

Those of you who know him can tell how it would have pained him to make that call. That makes my re-telling of this story all the more satisfying (to me). I say that in the "nicest possible way". I was perfectly happy to oblige Alan, if only to see this Orchid myself.

The plants had been found, and reported to Alan by Christopher Grounds and Marilyn. As arranged, they kindly agreed to show myself and Kirsten (the Illawarra ANOS Editor) where these plants were.

The location is known as the Heritage Estate, at or near Vincentia, adjacent to Jervis Bay National Park.

Here is a habitat shot, for Mick
A lovely "Scribbly Gum" in the process of shedding its bark.
The old bark increases in colour, just prior to peeling.
The low heath shrubbery has Callistemons in flower.
Not quite as tree-free as most of Mick's "Wallum" country,
but with many similar species, I suspect.
Certainly coastal heath land on a sandstone base.

This patch of bushland has been the subject of much wrangling, over the years. It has a history of development proposals going way back into the early 20th century. And then there was the intervention by Minster Garrett to declare the development proposals to be a "Controlled Action" under the EPBC Act. The estate is a mixture of some privately owned parcels, and some Council Land. Much of the area is being trashed by trail-bike riders and drunken louts. In between the beer bottles, dumped trampolines and dead vehicles, is some of the best Orchid habitat, on sandstone heathland and open Eucalypt forest, one could wish to find.

This doesn't look like the best Orchid environment.

This wonderful old tree is the last tree in this particular clearing.
The remaining area of the paddock has been cleared.
The stump of the tree has been burnt, but still the tree lives.

I think it should be called the "How Good is that? Tree"
Imagine how long it takes the local drunks to
(Question 1) drink those bottles?
(Question 2) and then throw the empties into the hollow?
(Question 3) and then celebrate how good they are?
Answer - all night?

Photo explanation:
The hole filled with beer bottles is
about 8 metres off the ground.
I have cut and pasted the image into the
lower portion of the image,
so you can see the bottles.
But they are at full height off the ground.

Back to Orchids.

This is the Orchid in question: Prasophyllum australe.

I have double-checked this species ID with my colleagues Colin and Mischa Rowan's marvellous Orchid web reference. I also checked it with David Jones's book and Tony Bishop's book. Between both online references, and the books, I am confident of the ID of this species.

As PlantNET says: "Labellum to 8 mm long, c. 2.5 mm wide, lanceolate when flattened; in living flowers, the upper portion recurving until the tip touches the gibbous base, the margins crisped, pellucid and often undulating. Callus plate extending almost half the length of the lamina ending in 2, compressed but much raised, bumps or prongs."

Despite the "Botanical Speak" there is another clue:
"Flowers white with reddish brown and green stripes, highly fragrant."

My nose is not very sensitive, and Kirsten said
she does not have much of a sense of smell, either.
So I referred the issue to Marilyn and asked her opinion.
She sniffed the flowers, and was delighted to find
it had a sweet honey perfume.
Even I could detect the perfume.

Unfortunately, Blogger does not yet have "Sniff-o-Blog".
One day, perhaps.
*****
Are you there, Google?
*****

Here one can see the recurved labellum
(the pale pink and white bit).
Check the flower low down on the right of the stem,
and the one in the middle right of the image.
The labellum starts out flat, and then bends upwards,
and reflexes right back on itself.
The edges of the labellum are white, crispy and ruffled.

The plant had a very long leaf.
Here Marilyn demonstrates how long the leaf is by holding the tip
between her fingers. Here Kirsten photographs the plant,
up-close and personal.
It was probably at this time that Kirsten allowed a Bull Ant
to climb up her trousers.
Silly woman!

She will be more careful in future.
Those of you who know her, might like to ask her about it.

On the way back to the Car we found this flower.
The iconic Cryptostylis hunteriana.
It is one of the plants for which the then Environment Minister
Peter Garrett decided to step in, and deny development approval
over the Heritage Estate.

It is listed as "Vulnerable" on the EPBC ActThis bizarre plant holds its flower completely upright.
Fully exposing the sexual organs of the flower
to the appropriate insect pollinator (a wasp).
The sepals and petals are all modified
to serve only as "handles" on which the wasp perches
when pollinating the flower.

And the plant has no leaves!
That latter feature makes this plant particularly hard
for Orchid enthusiasts to find
because other related plants have persistent leaves
which can be seen and identified over about 8 months of the year.

There were 3 plants of this species growing together.
And here is a related species,
the Large Tongue Orchid, Cryptostylis subulata.
This plant has similar arrangement of reduced or curled
petals and sepals (once the flower opens).
But this one holds its "private parts"
hidden underneath the flower.
To make up for its "modesty" it has a large series of glands
along underneath the flower,
to attract its pollinators by scent.
The black line of glands
is very obvious from low down
and off to the side.

Yes, I was lying in the grass, when I took this photo
But at least I didn't get bitten by Bull Ants!

So much happening, so little time

This week a "Large Tongue Orchid" (Cryptostylis subulata) which I have been observing for four years (if not five) flowered for the first time.

I first saw that it had formed a flowering stem back in mid August. It opened on Monday. More than two months after the stem and buds first started to form.

This plant is growing in a dark Melaleuca thicket
in a bed of deep moist leaf litter.
I estimate it is in about 70% shade.
A most atypical habitat for this species.

The same flower stem today (taken with flash).
This is a tall Orchid, the stem reached to the top of my pocket
That is approx 90 cm, and the stem is still growing.

As seen from above, you can see
why it earns the name "Cow Orchid".
The lateral sepals roll themselves closed
and appear to look like cow horns.
Seen from underneath.
The flower has dark red glands along the centre of the labellum.
The column can be seen underneath the labellum.
(click to enlarge the image).
These Tongue Orchids are perhaps the most sexually explicit
of all Orchid flowers that I know.

As for the "so little time" -
The Bowerbirds were in a feeding frenzy to day.
The first of my Herbaceous peonies opened to day;
The next two Tree Peonies were showing colour;
There was an amazing sunset (which I did not photograph)
but I was able to share it with Tony and Anna Williams
who happened to be passing by, as the sun was setting.

Bonnet (or Tartan) Orchid

When I was with Alan Stephenson, the other day, down the South Coast, I commented to him that I would like to photograph the Bonnet Orchid (also known as the Tartan orchid) - Cryptostylis erecta.

Easily done, said Alan. We pulled into a park which runs along a creek within the built-up area of Ulladulla, and we walked along a very wide "bike path". Sure enough we came to an area where the growth was not "creek gully scrub", but rather typical Spotted Gum and Turpentine forest. Huge trees, and not much undergrowth. That's where we found the Bonnet Orchids.

This particularly tall leaf stood out noticeably.
There is a bent stem, with flowers, but one tends to see the leaf first.

This is what the full stem looks like.
From low down, you can see why this flower is called the Bonnet Orchid.
And the other name "Tartan Orchid" is also appropriate.
These plants typically grow in clusters close to the base of huge gum trees.
The theory is that in light rain or misty conditions,
rain is collected by the tree, and runs down the trunk.
These plants will not flower this season - maybe next year.
Remember where you saw them, and check again this time next year.
These upright leaves are typical of most Tongue Orchid species.
In this case they are green on the upper surface, and maroon underneath.
They are not as dark on the underneath as the "Small Tongue Orchid".
Check this image to see what I mean.

According to David Jones' big book, these plants are "widespread and common; occurs in rainforest, wet and drier forests, Wallum communities and heathland, locally common on coastal plains and headlands, among grasses, sedges and low shrubs"

Distribution: Qld (n to Kroombit Tops); NSW; Vic (e). Altitude 0 - 600 metres.

Mick, sounds like this is probably in your area, especially the Great Sandy National Park - from what you showed us last week.

Summer solstice (delayed) and Lucy's cake

Good things happen at the height of summer (well at the Summer Solstice at least). In Robertson, it usually means we turn off our heaters (in my case, I did that last week).

That is good for Global Warming. In these Post-Copenhagen Days of Apocalypse, it means I was (until I turned the heater off last week) killing the Planet faster than it will otherwise die (of natural causes - by converting itself to a "Red Giant"). Don't fret, experts predict we have some 5 billion years (give or take a bit).

You can see that I am "Over" Copenhagen. As I am concerned, we have a hypocritical, or schizophrenic Government, but I'll leave you to make up your own mind about those options.

*****

To get over this fit of despondency, I decided to go down to Kangaloon to check for summer-flowering Ground Orchids (the Solstice was yesterday, of course). It took me a while to find any, but once I did, of course, I started to see lots of them. That is the usual story with Orchids - "get your eye in". Once you do that - train your eye to look for what it is you are actually looking for. Do that, and then you see them almost everywhere.

The first species I went looking for is the Little Tongue Orchid (Cryptostylis leptochila). There were some which had finished already, which surprised me. But then I found lots just opening up.

One open flower, and many buds developing.

Side on view
Full view of the flower - low angle shot
Click to enlarge image, to appreciate the details of the flower.
The reverse of the leaf of Cryptostylis leptochila.
It is typical of this species in that it is a burgundy colour on the back

A few metres down the road I found my first Hyacinth Orchids (of the year) (Dipodium roseum). (DJW Edit - actually Dipodium punctatum) Oddly enough, the very first one I found had finished flowering (as with the Cryptostylis). Do these co-incidences mean that the early flowers had been dried up prematurely by a sudden burst of hot weather? Or else, had I just missed the true start of the season? (I had not "looked" for about 10 days.)

Anyway, here are some more of the Hyacinth Orchid flowers.

Click on the image to enlarge it to see the fine details of the labellum.
There is a rain drop on the labellum.
It has a hairy "brush" of pink fibres.

Four stems growing side by side.

Here is a cluster of Hyacinth Orchids growing right beside the road.

Having ascertained that the summer Orchids were starting to flower, I kept on driving down the road, to catch up with my friend Lucy. I had not seen her for several months, as she had been away from home at various times I had dropped by. Today she was at home.

I got there just as a huge thunderstorm broke out.
The power went down.

It did provide a brief photo opportunity. This stunning silvery-barked Scribbly Gum in her front yard was highlighted against the "lowering sky".We chatted and after a while the power came back on, and Lucy announced that she proposed to make a Tea Cake.
Goodness me, no wonder I like the lady!
Happy memories.
Tea Cakes take me back to my childhood.
Another friend of Lucy's turned up, with her baby, joining Lucy's 3 kids and another friend and me. We all sat down to enjoy the Tea Cake, which was still warm, and coated in fresh runny cream. Yum!

Needless to say, I managed to overlooked Lucy's small contribution to Global Warming, as I enjoyed my share of the warm Tea Cake.

Bob Brown opens his own Photo display at Bodalla.

The "Gallery Bodalla", adjacent to the Post Office, is hosting an impressive collection of Photographs by Senator Bob Brown, Environmental Campaigner par excellence.

The Exhibition of Bob Brown's art works is known as "Tasmania 2" - Weilangta Fundraising Photo Exhibition. For this exhibition, funds raised are being shared with the South East Regional Conservation Alliance.

In truth, the original motivation for Bob's Photo Exhibition is as follows (In Bob Brown's own words):

• "This second photo exhibition is to charm your eye. It also serves the serious purpose of raising money to pay for our initially successful court challenge against logging Wielangta Forest and the habitat of it’s rare and endangered species. The Federal Court ruled that the logging will drive Tasmania’s giant Wedgetailed eagle, Swift parrot and Wielangta stag beetle towards extinction but then on appeal said logging could go ahead and awarded costs against me.
  Forestry Tasmania is demanding $280,000.
  I am not acceding but have no further court of appeal on the judgement.
  This exhibition is a galaxy of Tasmania’s flora, fauna and wild places, and we hope you and your friends can make it to the Gallery on the Princess Highway, Bodalla - running from Saturday 14th March to the 5th of April."
• In this case, Bob Brown is sharing any funds raised with the local anti-logging campaigners in the NSW South Coast.

My own comment is that this situation is a disgrace, because it is a politically motivated cost impost against a private individual. The original court case, under the terms of the EPBC Act was successful. Then the (then) Federal (Howard) Government and the (then) Lennon (Labor) Government (in Tasmania) changed the Regional Forestry Agreement (RFA) to allow clearing of the Tasmanian Tall Forests, even though that involved threatening Federally listed Endangered Species, such as the Swift Parrot (below).

That is pertinent to yesterday's post about the Leafless Tongue Orchids at Jervis Bay being protected, and a previous post I published about the Kangaloon Sun Orchid being "Listed" under the EPBC Act. I know about that, because I nominated it to be listed, following the very precedent of the court case which Bob Brown fought and initially won.

I did not know until today that the Howard Government had colluded to change the RFA to allow the forest clearing to proceed anyway. What a Bastard act!

If you do not appreciate the intricate manoeuverings behind this, you may read the history of the court cases here. You may also read a more hard-hitting commentary about all this, and more shenannigans on Crikey's Environmental Blog.

Today's Art Exhibition was opened by Pru Acton, fashion designer, artist, local resident and Environmental Campaigner.

Peter Garrett acts to save Endangered Species at Jervis Bay

Readers of this Blog have had the chance to see the endangered Leafless Tongue Orchid. Those plants were growing at a property near Vincentia, at Jervis Bay, known at the Heritage Estates.

I am pleased to be able to report that Peter Garrett, the Federal Minister for the Environment has today declared that the Shoalhaven Council's rezoning of that land cannot go ahead, as it would have posed a threat to matters of National Environmental Significance, specifically threatened species, as listed under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity (EPBC) Act.

• "Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has refused a large rezoning and development proposal near Jervis Bay on the New South Wales south coast because of its threat to wildlife.
  "Shoalhaven City Council proposed to rezone up to 1,200 allotments known as Heritage Estates near Vincentia.
  "The rural land was sold to investors in the 1980s, with the hope that it could be rezoned as residential at a later date.
  "Mr Garrett says he has decided that the proposed rezoning and development cannot proceed because of the unacceptable impacts on threatened species.
  "The development would have isolated the Boodoree National Park from important wildlife corridors that are critical to the survival of nationally protected plants and animals, he said.
  "Mr Garrett says he is aware a number of landowners were led to believe they would be able to build on the land despite its rural zoning.
  "He says in reaching the decision, he took into account the effect the development would have had on the surrounding environment.
  "[I] took note of what Shoalhaven Council put to me and also the submissions of landowners," he said.
  "I'm sympathetic to the situation that these landowners find themselves in but this has been a thorough and an open process. I've taken account of all the material in front of me."
  
  Source: ABC Illawarra News 13 March 2009

I wish to offer my congratulations to Alan Stephenson, Conservation Officer with the Australasian Native Orchid Society, and local President of the Illawarra Branch of ANOS, who has done so much to get these plants, and the property in general protected.

As a matter of fact, I was with Alan three days ago, with Colin and Mischa, when he showed us yet more Endangered Species on this particular parcle of land. It is indeed a valuable Natural Assett. More photos from that trip will follow, as soon as I can download my camera files.

The Little Tongue Orchid (the last of the local Tongue Orchids)

I have recently shown you the first three of the Tongue Orchids which occur in NSW - the "Large"; the "Furred (or Leafless)" Tongue Orchids; and the Bonnet (or Tartan) Orchid. This species is the "Little Tongue Orchid", Cryptostylis leptochila.Tonight I am able to complete the set - for according to the RBG Sydney PlantNET, these are the only 4 species of Tongue Orchid to occur in NSW. This is probably my favourite of the Tongue Orchids, because it frankly, such an "outrageous" flower, in design. It is common in the local (Kangaloon) area, underneath the tall Eucalypts.

Here is a photo from two years ago, which I used for a talk I gave about Local Orchids. The image has been labelled with the names of the various parts of the flower. This plant's leaf is distinctive, and nearly permanent (many Ground Orchids disappear shortly after flowering). So even when it is not in flower, you can still find this plant, and make a mental note to come back over the summer and look for the flowers. As you can see theleaf is quite dramatic in its shape, and colour. The front side is dark green, but the most obvious (and diagnostic) feature, is the bright maroon coloured reverse side of the leaf. C. hunteriana has no leaves, C. erecta has a mottled maroon reverse, and C. subulata is green on both sides. These leaves resemble a fallen Gum-tree leaf, except they are nearly always positioned vertically. But one can quickly check the reverse to confirm what Tongue Orchid species leaf you are looking at.
I would have to say, that, in contradiction of its name, the Small Tongue Orchid is not particularly small. I have seen one particularly large specimen which grew as high as my pocket - but that was a big one, I admit. The flower or should I say, the Labellum is slightly less bulky than the other species. Certainly its Labellum is narrower than any of the other species I have written about.

PlantNET botanical illustration

The most obvious feature of the flower is the outrageously shaped Labellum. It is narrow, with revolute margins (rolled back on the sides). It is not simply an erect Labellum, it is also recurved at the top. I have tried to show this in this next photo (thanks to a fortuitously located gum leaf on the ground), but the RBG botanical illustration (above) does that best of all. The Labellum is covered with dense, fine hairs. It almost appears to be velvety. The next feature to note is the dark dots along the labellum, which are the scent glands ("osmophores"). They are in two rows of about 9 dots. Interestingly, from the front, the column is quite similar to the Leafless Tongue Orchid (C. hunteriana).

In fact the low end of the Labellum is not at all "flat" - it is indeed quite a deep flower, as you can see in this next diagonal-angled view.
Here is a view of the full flower, more or less from the side.
And once again, the full flower, from front on.

Another Tongue Orchid" - the Bonnet Orchid

This interesting plant is Cryptostylis erecta, the Bonnet Orchid" or the "Tartan Tongue Orchid".
This is the third in a series I have promised to write, of the 4 species of Tongue Orchids which grow in this region. Click on each image to see the flower in its full glory!!!The "Bonnet" is the Labellum, but it is held upright, quite unlike the Large Tongue Orchid about which I wrote recently.

The labellum is not recurved (as the previous one was), but is "very broad, deeply concave, forming a hood" (RBG Sydney PlantNET). Hence the name Bonnet Orchid.
This flower has some structural similarities to the "Leafless (or Furry) Tongue Orchid". At least that one also holds the labellum upright, but it is recurved laterally (rolled back on the sides). Also, as the second name tells you, that flower is totally hairy. unlike this one. It is also a leafless plant, whereas this species has a prominent upright leaf, with a green reverse.
The main "common" factor these "Tongue Orchids" have is the single dominant petal which is the "labellum" and all others are reduced to thin rolled structures, once mature.

I actually like the alternative name, Tartan Orchid, because of the colourations which remind me of some of the more subtle Tartans. It lacks a weave in the pattern, though.

This last photo shows nicely the other buds which have just started to open. If you look closely at the far left top bud, you can see that its dorsal sepal is just starting to separate off from the rest of the flower. Once the sepals and the lateral petals open, they curl around very tightly (lateral curl - keeping the full length), to become the "perches" upon which the male wasps land, before "assuming the position" on the flower. I first wrote about that phenomenon, on this particular species, three years ago. This curling up of the other sepals and petals is a very strange arrangement, when you consider that the labellum is such a fulsome petal - to which all the others become subservient, once they open. This is a very different arrangement from the Sun Orchids, for example, in which all the sepals and petals are virtually "equal" in size and function.

Colin, reported to me the other day that he had found (at Marlo, Victoria) "3 of the tongue orchids species in flower. The large, the furred and the bonnet. All in an area 10m square."

That's pretty good going. Those are the three species I have reported upon so far.

You may see Colin's full page of his excellent photos of this species by clicking here.
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Large Tongue Orchid

This plant is one of the first Orchids I found after I moved to Robertson, and got into the habit of scouring the surrounding countryside, especially on the sandstone plateaux which subtend the basalt hills of Robertson. Although I had often found leaves of this plant, I had not seen flowers for the last 4 years. I did see one very fine specimen when south from Nowra with Alan Stephenson ten days ago. But none in my own "backyard".
Consequently, when Colin and Mischa turned up here last week, and commented, in an almost off-handed manner that they had stopped off on the way over to take some photos of Cryptostylis subulata - I was keen to find out where they were. My amateur Orchid hunter's "professional pride" was at stake, if you know what I mean.

Mischa told me where she had first seen these plants, along the Belmore Falls Road, and as I knew the area well, I was confident that I could find them from her descriptions. Wrong!

The next day I rang Mischa and tried to obtain some more explicit instructions, and went back again. Still no luck!

Oh well, why not just look for different plants in the same general area?
At last, some success, along the side of the road near Missingham Lookout, near Belmore Falls.

Once I had found several of these Tongue Orchids, I was then able to go back to the area Mischa had told me about, and sure enough, I was able to find them. Of course they were there all the time, but it is just a case of knowing where to look. I had been looking in the open areas, beside the road, whereas the plants were growing a few metres back from the road, and growing amongst rushes and other dense ground covering plants.The flower structure of this Tongue Orchid is quite bizarre (but all the others are, so why not this species?).

The main structure one sees is the Labellum. These Orchids are non-resupinate, which means the Labellum is on top of the column (not forming a "cup" under the as many popular "slippper orchids" do). The labellum, in this species hangs out at about 45 degrees to the ground. In this regard it is quite different from the closely related Cryptostylis hunteriana, which holds the labellum vertically. I wrote about that plant last week.

The next thing one notices about this flower is the odd "bump" underneath the labellum, clearly visible from the side. It is called a "callus".In fact it is a prominent part of the sexual attraction process by which this flower achieves pollination. The "callus" is in fact a two-part protrusion, (a gland no doubt) by which the flower produces chemicals to attract wasps, in a process now described as sexual deception. The odours produced mimic the pheremones produced by females of certain species of wasps. The male wasps engage in what is called "pseudo-copulation". The male wasps get confused, (poor dears). One might think of these flowers as the plant equivalent of a "blow-up doll".

In this angle (from underneath the flower) you can
see the "double bump" of the callus I have been talking about

In the next image, you can actually see the entire area of the "callus", which has a relatively long series of glands, (shiny, dark red glands) leading up to the "double bump" part. You can also see clearly the yellow dot, where the column of the flower is located. That is where the pollinia are located, and where the receptive part of the flower is. This photo has been taken from underneath the flower. One does not see this part, unless you look very closely indeed.Here is another view from low down, and it shows nicely the parallel lines of the glands which are all part of the "callus" structure of the flower. Click to enlarge the image.In this last image I want to show why this plant earns the "nick-name" Cow Orchid. The lateral sepals in this flower (as in all the local Tongue Orchids) are reduced to thin, rolled protrusions. In this case you can see how some people say they resemble the horns of a cow. But to get the full picture, you ought see how the labellum has rolled back edges (revolute), and they form a kind of protruding "lip", which could be thought to resemble the snout of a cow's head. OK, you have to squint a bit, and use your imagination, but I did not invent the name. It is safer to stick with the name Large Tongue Orchid.

I have a sentimental attachment to this Orchid, as I mentioned and I am glad to have seeen it again, this season. Thanks to Colin and Mischa for having told me it was flowering this year.