Just down Scriveners Road from Forestech TAFE in the Colquhuon State Forest we found Tall Greenhood (Pterostylis melagramma) which has a labellum with a black stripe down its centre.  It can grow to 80cm tall.  There was one plant which had eleven flowers on the flowering stalk!!    Twenty is about the maximum number found.  The lateral sepals are held straight down and are fused together for most of their length.  Other orchids were the greenhoods Maroonhood (P. pedunculata), Trim (P. concinna) and Nodding (P. nutans).  Also in flower were two creeping purple peas, the large subshrub Purple Coral-pea (Hardenbergia violacea) and the tiny herb Twining Glycine (Glycine clandestina).  On Colquhuon Road near Blackfellows Track beneath cream-flowered Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus tricarpa)and Black She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis) was Heath Spider-orchid (Caladenia pesleyi).  This orchid was named for Alan Pesley; a long time orchid fancier and farmer from Genoa.  It has a hairy stem, the sepals have dark burgundy clubs at their ends and there are a few short teeth on the margins of the labellum.  Again there were Nodding Greenhood, but also Small Mosquito-orchid (Acianthus pusillus) which is similar to Large Mosquito-orchid (A. exsertus), but has smaller, paler and more crowded flowers.  Also of interest were Spreading Wattle (Acacia genistifolia) whose leaves are almost spines and the balls of flowers are 2-4 in each axil; Sallow Wattle (A. longifolia) with flattened straight phyllodes with several main veins and spikes of flowers; and Hop Wattle (A. stricta) with similar phyllodes, but with one main vein and flowers in balls.Two heaths were a pink Common Heath (Epacris impressa) and Cranberry Heath (Astroloma humifusum).  There was another pea, the shrub Austral Indigo (Indigofera australis) with mauve flowers, Creamy Candles (Stackhousia monogyna) and Showy Violet (Viola betonicifolia).  We found evidence of the activities of Long-nosed Bandicoot.  These animals make vertical conical holes in the ground when searching for insects and plant roots.

On to Lake Tyers Forest Park where on Peterson Road near Burnt Bridge Road some Red Ironbarks had bark with very deep furrows.  The cream-flowered ironbarks appear to bloom before those with red flowers.  Another tree was Blue Box (Eucalyptus bauera).  We came here to see Granite Greenhood (Pterostylis tunstallii) which is in the same group as Tall Greenhood.  Again the flowering plant has no basal rosette.  Its labellum is brown with a darker brown central stripe.  There were also the leaves and buds of Brown-beaks (Lyperanthus suaveolens).  Another wattle seen was Prickly Moses (Acacia verticillata) which as suggested has its phyllodes modified to be like spines.  These are arranged in rings of 6 at each node and the flowers are in bright yellow spikes.  The delicate pretty blue Love Creeper (Comesperma voluble) was scrambling over some shrubs.  We lunched by the water at the end of Trident Arm Track.  Here was our national flower Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha); Coast or Limestone Pomaderris (Pomaderris oraria) which grows on limestone formations of coast and river cliffs, and has ovate leaves with white stellate hairs below and brown hairs on the veins; Salt Lawrencia (Lawrencia spicata), a fleshy herb with tiny yellow hibiscus-like flowers arranged in a tall spike; Sea-box (Alyxia obtusifolia), a shrub to 3m with tough rounded leaves, flowers with an orange tube and white corolla lobes and finally red fleshy drupes; and Rounded Noon-flower (Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum), a succulent prostrate subshrub (a ’pigface‘) with bright pink flowers.  About 2km along Moras Break Road at an elevation of 280m and GPS 55 603794E and 5813644N was White Fingers (Caladenia catenata), an orchid with usually a single bright white flower with a deep pink column; White Marianth (Rhytidosporum procumbens), a tiny subshrub (to 40cm) with white starry flowers which we see all the time; and Scarlet Bracket Fungus (Pycnoporus coccineus).  Further along this road was Dusky Fingers (Caladenia fuscata) which has a column and labellum with prominent red transverse stripes; Pink Fingers (C. carnea) and a Mosquito-orchid (Acianthus sp.) whose leaf was green below.  A Common Grass-blue butterfly was visiting White Fingers.  Hairy Pink-bells (Tetratheca pilosa) has hairy leaves and stems, and bright pink flowers with dark central stamens giving it its other common name of Black-eyed Susan (I wonder who Susan was?).  A plant of Thatch Saw-sedge (Gahnia radula) was parasitised by a small twining Dodder-laurel (Cassytha sp.) which was winding itself around the leaf of the Saw-sedge with haustoria (suckers) about every 2mm near the bottom of the leaf tapping into the nutrient system of the plant.  The first bush tick was noticed on someone’s arm and removed along Circle Road; but not before it had caused a large red swelling on the poor victim, who continued to suffer for many more days.  Here Heath Wattle (Acacia brownii) was flowering.  This is a small shrub to 1m with needle-like leaves and single balls of flowers.  A little further east on this road were Cobra Greenhood (Pterostylis grandiflora) with large white and green striped flowers with brown margins at the tip of the dorsal sepal; Maroonhood and the ubiquitous Noddies.  An emu dropping was carefully examined.  It contained furrowed fruits, some still with a smooth coating, and we wondered if they were the fruits of the Blue Oliveberry (Eleaocarpus reticulatus).

A lovely day again, thank you James.