Despite the dry conditions and the general lack of terrestrial orchids flowering in Victoria, Anglesea has once again enthralled all those orchid enthusiasts who ventured into the field during spring.
There was a lovely flush of sun orchids with many blue orchids confusing people who were keen to identify them. We were thrilled to find about 20 Merran’s Sun Orchids, Thelymitra merraniae, flowering close to where it was first described in 1929 and rediscovered in 1992 after a very long absence.
Merran’s Sun Orchid
A most exciting sighting was that of the Hoary Sun Orchid, T. mucida, by Dean Rouse, an orchid expert, who was trying out his new photographic equipment in the Salt Creek area. It was last documented from that area in 1984 following the bush fires of the previous year. Although we have often searched for it, the species has not been reported in Anglesea since that time. It has a bluish flower with pink tonings and conspicuous darker stripes and a sticky white bloom on the column as can be seen from Dean’s photo.
Hoary Sun Orchid
The Blotched Sun Orchid, T. benthamiana, had a great flowering season with flowers appearing in many sites, and some very nice Blue Star Orchids, T. holmesii, were recorded, with a very late specimen observed on November 16.
Blotched Sun Orchid
Blue Star Sun Orchid
A good number of ‘Otway Coast’ Leek Orchids, Prasophyllum spicatum, Anglesea form, were sighted especially in the Harvey Street area but they were short-lived. There were good records of Purple Beard Orchids, C. robertsonii, and some records of Red Beard Orchids, C. paludosus, and Copper Beard Orchids, C. campestris, but we have not yet been alerted to any of the extremely rare Naked Beard Orchid, C. imberbi.
Spider orchids continued to flower well with a significant colony of the rare Southern Spider Orchid, Caladenia australis, flowering on Bambra Road.
Southern Spider Orchid
Another interesting find was a scattered colony of tiny hypochromatic Cryptic Fingers, C. mentiens, that Angair members, Nerita and her sister Marita, discovered on the Yan Wirring Mirr Loop in late September. The pinkish red on the labellum had been suppressed and the flowers were entirely white.
Hypochromatic form of Cryptic Fingers
Please let us know of any of your interesting orchid experiences.
Margaret MacDonald margmacmoggs@icloud.com Alison Watson alisonw577@gmail.com
Photos thanks to Alison Watson, Keith McLean, Paul Wright , Marg MacDonald, Dean Rouse. Graham Lee