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GLOSSODIA MAJOR
Orchidaceae Parson in the Pulpit This distinctive and attractive orchid is often the first of the prominent orchids to appear in spring and is common to abundant in dry woodlands and heathlands. The leaves are broad, pale green in colour and usually resting on the ground. There are one or occasionally two flowers on a stem. Flowers vary in colour from pale to deep mauve or rarely white. The petals and sepals are similar and the labellum is smaller but still petal-like. |
| PTEROSTYLIS NUTANS
Orchidaceae Nodding Greenhood Widespread and common in woodlands and heathlands,
and flowering in late winter to early spring, this orchid has a rosette of
leaves surrounding a flower stem. The single flower is nodding with the
flower stem bent forwards just below the flower. The flowering stems are
usually about 15 cm tall, and the blooms are faintly striped with green and
white in the basal part and green or pale brown at the end. The lateral sepals
have narrow |
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DIURIS SULPHUREA Orchidaceae Tiger orchid A large yellow orchid flower with oval petals and with two dark-brown spots on the dorsal sepal. The brown spots are especially noticeable on top of buds which are about to open. It has a few grass-like leaves and a robust stem of up to six flowers. The labellum, in the centre of the flower, is yellow with brown markings, which may look vaguely like stripes. Otherwise the origin of the name tiger orchid is unclear. The lateral sepals are linear and usually hang downwards without crossing. Occasionally a plant with broad brown and yellow lateral sepals is found. It favours sandy soils and is common in woodlands and heathlands in the east, north and midlands. Flowering period - mid to late spring. |
| DIURIS ORIENTIS
Orchidaceae Eastern Wallflower Orchid Commonly called wallflower because its colour is a soft blend of brown, purple and yellow, like the popular garden plant of the same name. This orchid has 2 or 3 narrow grass-like basal leaves to 30 cm long. Flowers 1-6, rather broad, about 4.5cm diameter, in a terminal raceme on an erect stem to 45cm, with 2 large clawed petals held upright like ears, a broad somewhat hooding dorsal sepal, 2 greenish long strap-shaped lateral sepals often crossing below the flower, and a 3-lobed labellum. Flowering October-November. Grassy and heathy open forest and woodland, teatree scrub, coastal and near-coastal in the north, north-east and Tasman Peninsula (south-east). Also Vic, NSW. SA |
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