It’s been a little while in coming, but here is the second of a three part educational video about Australian Orchids.
Orchids are special.
They are unique but even more they are important. Orchids are the barometer to the health of the ecosystem.
So, watch and enjoy the video …
To watch the first video click here.
Every month, NOSSA holds a photograph competition. The entries were varied and beautiful but they were only being seen by the members at the meetings, so it was decided to showcase these lovely orchid images in a calendar.
The overall winner from 2018 would be on the front cover and we would select twelve from the fifty-one 2018 entries. The challenge was to select the twelve. This was done by having an on-line vote for the twelve most popular pictures. And I would like to thank all who entered and all who voted.
Having collated the votes to find out what was the most popular orchids, the next task was to design an informative calendar giving information about the South Australian orchids featured as well as significant NOSSA event dates and a very rough guide indicating when the orchids are likely to be flowering.
If you are interested in ordering a calendar, contact NOSSA as per the details on the flyer above.
This is one of the most commonly asked question.
The short answer is that in South Australia there will be potentially an orchid flowering somewhere in any month of the year but the caveat is that in certain months specifically December, January, February, and March it is very difficult to find any as there are only a few flowering species and most of them are restricted to localised/sensitive sites. The flowering times for the highest number of species occur in winter and spring with October being the most prolific month for flowering.
To see how this varies across the state for the individual regions see the charts below.
Another is question “Will I find orchids when I visit a particular park on a particular day?” is not such an easy question to answer because it DEPENDS on so many different factors.
The timing of the rains affects the flowering time, for instance, Autumn orchids appear about 6 – 8 weeks after the first autumn rains. Normally the South East is the best place but this year the lower South East did not have a good flowering due to the storms and associated cold with the wet conditions.
Pollination affects the likelihood of finding flowers. Flowers remain open until pollination occurs. If the pollination is delayed the flower will be on display for a longer time until it runs out of energy and naturally shrivels up. To illustrate this NOSSA visited Scott Creek Conservation Park one day and there was a beautiful display of sun orchids along with several spider orchids but on a visit to the same site one week later, there were hardly any flowers left. Many had been pollinated as was evidenced by the swollen capsules.
So as a rough guide click here for the species flowering times of South Australian Orchids and here for month by month information. This data is based upon information found in the 2011 South Australia’s Native Orchids disk.
For detailed information, it is necessary to consult with someone who knows the orchids in the area but it may not always be easy to find such a person. In which case, contact NOSSA and we may be able to, through our network, find someone to help.
Mad dogs and Englishmen are not the only ones to go out in the midday sun. For orchidologists to see Sun Orchids flowering, then it is out into the midday sun on a hot day because that is when they open. There is no point going much before 11am and by 2pm most are closing and no point going out on a cool or windy day.
But for those who don’t want to go out (or cannot get out) into the midday sun, here is a video to be viewed in the cool of the shade.
This video features the Leopard Sun Orchid (Thelymitra benthamiana) an uncommon Sun Orchid in South Australia. Unlike many sun orchids which requires a view of the flower to confirm identification, this one can be identified by the leaf alone. At the beginning of the video take note of its distinctive leaf.
South Australia has some very interesting and unique orchids but it is not always possible see them either because one cannot get out to see them or the season has been poor with inadequate rain at the right time. So, one of NOSSA’s member has produced a video. It starts in autumn and goes through to summer.
So sit back and enjoy ……
NOSSA 