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We travelled to our favourite spot for members of the genus Cryptostylis, the Tongue and Bonnet Orchids. Of the four members of this genus that are found in East Gippsland, three are found at Marlo. The Bonnet Orchid or Tartan Tongue-orchid (C. erecta) and the Large Tongue-orchid (C. subulata)have upright ovate green leaves. The Leafless Tongue-orchid (C. hunteriana) has no leaves. It is a saprophyte, and gets its nutrition from decaying plant material, probably in association with a fungus.We find these orchids near the Marlo airport. It was a bad day to be doing our annual count. The temperature was over 40oC, with a northerly wind and no shade. The vegetation is wet heath. Other plants in this heath were the small Scrub Sheoak (Allocasuarina paludosa) which only grows to 3m, but was much shorter in this environment; the pea Golden Spray (Viminaria juncea) with pendulous, almost leafless branches; Spear Grass-tree (Xanthorrhoea resinosa); yellow Swamp Goodenia (Goodenia humilis), a dwarf rosetted perennial; Blue Dampiera (Dampiera stricta); pink Heath Milkwort (Comesperma ericinum) with pea-like flowers with 5 sepals resembling petals and 3 petals, and is in the family Polygalaceae; pale mauve tiny-flowered Angled Lobelia (Lobelia anceps); Spreading Rope-rush (Empodisma minus); Zig-zag Bog-rush (Schoenus brevifolius); and Horned Orchid (Orthoceras strictum) with tall flowering stems bearing greenish-brown flowers with a hooded dorsal sepal, long erect lateral sepals (the horns), a brown labellum with a central yellow patch and tiny hidden petals. Two non-flowering plants were Screw fern (Lindsaea linearis), a tiny plant with fan-shaped pinnae on the sterile fronds and erect narrow fertile fronds bearing the spores along the outer margins of the pinnae; and Swamp selaginella (Selaginella uliginosa), a lycopod with tiny stiff leaves arranged in four rows around the stem. The spores are borne in sporangia at the tips of the branches, loosely arranged in cones. We only found two open Bonnet Orchids and one in bud. The flowers of Cryptostylis are held upside-down and have large colourful labellums. In the Bonnet Orchid, the leaf is pale green on one side and purplish on the other. The labellum forms a hood which is translucent white with purple stripes. There were also Leafless Tongue- and Large Tongue-orchids. The erect labellum of the Leafless Tongue-orchid is reddish-purple with a raised central callus. The leaves of the Large Tongue-orchid are green on both surfaces. Its labellum is held out and down with the margins curved up and the surface has two long purple ridges ending in a bilobed callus. This is only seen from below. The leaves of the Tongue-orchids were often found growing protected near the heart of the Grass-trees.
At Point Riccardo further east along the Marlo Conran Road behind the primary dune was Rosy Hyacinth-orchid (Dipodium roseum). This spectacular leafless orchid has a flowering stalk to 100cm with up to 50 pale pink flowers with darker pink spots. The labellum has darker stripes and pink hairs.
Detouring off onto the Marlo Plains Road we stopped for a very welcome cooling lunch break at Bill and Helen Kosky’s holiday house. After this we travelled further east along the Old Coast Road and 2.6 km east of the Cabbage Tree Conran Road beneath Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus tricarpa) which has very dark deeply furrowed bark and Saw Banksia (Banksia serrata) was the very pretty purple Hairy Fan-flower (Scaevola ramosissima), Woolly Xanthosia (Xanthosia pilosa) with trifoliate lobed hairy leaves, and absolutely peculiar Elbow Orchids (Thynninorchis huntianus). The Elbow Orchid is a leafless saprophytic orchid which grows in leaf litter. It grows to 15cm with up to eight small flowers. These upside-down flowers have a mobile labellum on a long stalk connected to an extension of the column, thus forming a hinge, and the labellum is covered with long hairs and warty calli, which makes the flower look insect-like. The petals and sepals are tiny and reflexed back against the ovary. The column which contains the packets of pollen and the stigma, has prominent wings which serve to hold the wasp pollinator against the column, where its body picks up the sticky packets of pollen. The new generic name for the Elbow Orchids (Thynninorchis) is derived from the thynnine wasp which pollinates these orchids through pseudocopulation. There had been many Elbow Orchid plants along this roadside, but despite the authorities being notified that the plants were there ,and needed protection, they had just been slashed. |
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Little Duck Orchid |
About 2km further east along the road were Large Duck-orchids (Caleana major) (to 50cm), which is another orchid with a bizarre flower. The flowers are also upside-down with a sensitive smooth labellum which is propelled between the column wings by the visits of insects. There was again the Leafless Tongue-orchid. Maybe another 2km east again was a plain with Scrub Sheoak; Spike Goodenia (Goodenia stelligera) whose yellow flowers are in an erect terminal spike with the outsides of the petals covered with brown hairs; Prickly Geebung (Persoonia juniperina), a shrub to 2m with yellow grevillea-like flowers and yellowish-green to purplish edible fruits; and Rush Lily (Sowerbaea juncea), a tufted perennial with a cluster of mauve flowers; where we found five more Leafless Tongue-orchids.
Around a corner and opposite a Cape Conran Coastal Park sign were Large Duck-orchids, Small Duck-orchids (Paracaleana minor) and Rosy Hyacinth Orchids. Small Duck-orchids have a stem to 18cm with up to 7 upside-down flowers. The labellum is also sensitive and covered with dark shiny calli.
On the Sydenham Inlet Road which goes south to Bemm River, north of the Old Coast Road on the west side of the road was a Grass-tree plain with Silver-leaf Stringybark (Eucalyptus conspicua), a small tree with contorted branches, rough and persistent bark and grey-green leaves.
Thanks to James and Bill Kosky, a keen orchid chaser in his home territory.
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