I am writing this post in the depths of Canberra winter, thinking longingly of the coming spring. And when I think of spring I also inevitably think of orchids. In anticipation of that I've put together an alphabet of orchids from four continents, just as a celebration of these wonderful plants, with which I am besotted. (If you enjoy it, you might also enjoy some previous alphabets that I've put together; on yellow flowers, red flowers, white flowers, acacias, and eucalypts.)
My general guidelines are to try to offer an Australian and an overseas orchid for each letter, using a genus name if possible, but using a species name if I can't manage a relevant genus. I'm not going to get hung-up on taxonomy here (it is a celebration after all), and inevitably some of the names I'm using are not now universally accepted, but all are published and at least have been and usually still are widely used. In a couple of cases I simply can't narrow it down to just one Australian or overseas offering per letter, but if you're interested in orchids I can't imagine that will be too hard to take. Finally I've failed on a few predictable letters - K, Q and W-Z.
So thanks for joining me, and let's go tiptoeing through an orchidaceous alphabet!
A
Bamboo Orchid Arundina graminifolia, Crocker Range, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. A big and dramatic orchid found from India to New Guinea |
B
C
Two of my favourite Australian orchid genera start with C, and I can't omit either.
Coelogyne sp. near Serian, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. One of some 200 species of this magnificent genus, across southern Asia; Borneo is a hotspot. |
D
Diuris, the donkey orchids or doubletails (both reflecting the flower's form, supposedly like a donkey's face - well I can see it! - though 'doubletail' also translates Diuris) are common and familiar orchids across southern Australia. In a good season open forest floors are carpeted with yellow flowers. They are the first orchids I remember being made aware of, on family excursions to the Adelaide hills.
Common Donkey Orchid Diuris corymbosa, Wireless Hill, Perth. Probably, as its name claims, the commonest donkey orchid in Western Australia. |
Purple Donkey Orchid Diuris punctata, Tallong, New South Wales Southern Highlands. |
Disa spp., Bamenda Highlands, western Cameroon. This is a large genus - more than 160 species - essentially restricted to Africa. As usual, any further identification help gladly received. |
E
The Purple Enamel Orchid Elythranthera brunonis, Two People's Bay NP, is a startlingly glossy orchid from the south-west of Western Australia, one of only two members of the genus. The species name means 'brown', which is pretty perplexing until you know that it's in honour of the great Scottish botanist Robert Brown. (Attempts to subsume this genus into the huge genus Caladenia haven't received much traction in Australia.) |
F
And here's another Epidendrum whose species name starts with F, because I have no photos of any orchid genera starting with F! (In fact there seem to be only two tiny Australian 'F' genera, from the Queensland tropics.)Fringed Epidendrum Epidendrum funkii, also on the Inca Track. (Also known as E. blepharistes, but that wouldn't do for my purposes here!) |
G
Orchidea amarilla ('yellow orchid') or Varita do oro ('golden wand') Gavilea lutea, Torres del Paine NP, Chilean Patagonia. A common robust orchid of cold grasslands as far south as Tierra del Fuego. |
H
I
This letter caused me some angst too; I have a photo of the lovely Ida locusta from Peru but the poor thing is so nibbled and shrivelled that it would be embarrassed to be shown. Instead I offer another Australian species chosen for its species name.
Spotted Sun Orchid Thelymitra ixioides, Bundanoon, New South Wales southern highlands. A very widespread and common orchid in south-eastern New South Wales. |
J
A slightly contentious one, in that the establishment has largely returned all the genera which were split from Caladenia in an attempt to provide some nuance, back to the huge amorphous grab-bag of Caladenia. However some authorities, including the respected Atlas of Living Australia, still recognise this genus for instance, named for the eminent Australian orchidologist David Jones; good enough for me today!
L
M
N
O
P
P begins with a double-P in fact, and it's a rare species as well.
Tarango Leek Orchid Prasophyllum petilum, northern Canberra. A grassland species now regarded as Endangered, as are many native grassland-relying species in south-eastern Australia. |
Pleurothallus sp., above Machu Picchu, southern Peru. I love the way these flowers seemingly grow from the leaf stalk. |
R
R was surprisingly challenging. There aren't many Australian orchid R-genera; the best known is probably Rhizanthella, the truly remarkable underground orchids - three species which live entirely beneath the ground, the flowers covered by soil or litter. Needless to say I don't have photos of them. Let's settle for an R-species instead.
S
S provided the opposite problem - too many delicious choices. In the end I could only get it down to two Australian S-orchids, plus one from overseas.
Pink Spiral Orchid Spiranthes australis, Canberra. Another small-flowered orchid, this one of moist grassy areas, with flowers tightly spiralling around the stem, a most unusual effect. |
Sobralia dichotoma, Inca Track above Machu Picchu, southern Peruvian Andes. A stunning big flower on a plant that can be three metres high! Hard to ignore. |
T
Telipogon salinasiae Acjanaco Pass, high Andes of southern Peru. Another big Neotropical orchid genus, many with unusually patterned flowers. This one was described in 2003. |
U
V
And finally - because after this we hit the tricky end of the alphabet, which I found intractable today - we end with a V, another based on a species name.
I do love orchids, and I'm really hoping that this spring is more productive than the last couple of dry years have been. Meantime, I hope this has encouraged you too to start looking forward to this year's orchid season.
NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 22 AUGUST
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And I'd love to receive your comments - it's easy and you don't need to sign in!)
5 comments:
Ahhh... the joys of orchid taxonomy. I will say no more on that subject - well, not here.
I agree totally with your respect for David Jones!
Your restraint does you credit Martin! :-). Thanks for reading and commenting.
What a great introduction to orchids for this fairly ignorant orchidist, thanks Ian. (Or Calochilus, given it’s beauty and the extreme likeness.) My favourites have to be the ‘s’ flowers... I’m keen now to find a pink spiral orchid and will be looking this season. Any suggested locations welcomed as I don’t think I’m likely to find them on my regular walks at Red Hill and Callum Brae. (Also very keen to see Sobralia Dichotoma but not in this lifetime!)
Thanks Julian, and I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Pink spiral orchids are fairly common around Canberra actually, and I’d be surprised if they’re not on Red Hill (I’m out of town for a few days so can’t easily check that). However they are small and fairly inconspicuous, grow in wet grassland where we may not choose to walk, and flower in summer when we may not be looking. Anywhere in the ranges is good, including low down like the Tid Valley; I’ll try to remember to give you a heads-up next time I come across them.
Thank you Ian, they are all one more beautiful than the next!
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