With the lack of rains, it doesn’t look good for the start of the 2019 South Australian orchid season but there is a good news story.
In the February 13, 2019 edition of the Hills Valley Weekly there was an encouraging article of the work of Bush For Life. Part of Trees For Life, this program with the aid of trained volunteers spend numerous hours weeding specific bush sites with the hope that they give our native plants a chance to survive. Yes it requires commitment and dedication but what joy there is when volunteers start seeing plants returning.
Orchids are often the first to disappear from a site when weeds enter and in many instances do not return. For them to return the conditions have to be just right with both the mycorrhizal fungi and the pollinators present. The more orchid species the better the site.
So well done to Jenny McInernay and Trees For Life for their work and commitment.
The blue orchid featured in the article is a spring flowering sun orchid; it appears to be Thelymitra inflata, common names Blue Star Sun Orchid or Adelaide Hills Plum Orchid. The other flower is not an orchid. It is a Wurmbea, common name Early Nancy.
NOSSA 