13/08/2017
After enjoying a wonderful lunch with my brother Geoff and his wife Robyn we make tracks for the long trip back to Esperance. Leaving Dwellingup our first stop is the cemetery. Nothing in flower found, so off to Inglehope Arboretum which also turned up flowerless. Not looking very promising, but we make one more stop on the Pinjarra-Williams Rd in the Boddington shire to give the Jarrah forest one more chance to show us what it has to offer.
I check the South side of the road and Deb heads North. My side was burnt and I found a few leaves but nothing in flower. In a break between the noise of passing cars Deb informs me she has found some very tall snail orchids. New find for the season, Slender snail orchid (Pterostylis sp. ‘crinkled leaf’). These are found late June to September between Perth and Albany.
As I’m taking photos of the snail orchids Deb moves on a finds Mosquito orchids. As I walk in her direction I too find one which appears to be Mosquito orchid. I take photos of my orchid then head over to Deb. Her orchids are much duller and greener in colour so a closer inspection confirms we have made a brand new discovery. Midge orchid (Cyrtostylis huegelli) is the correct species as the labellum is much thinner than the broad one on the Mosquito orchid. These orchids are found July through September and range from Kalbarri to east of Esperance.
We now move on as we have limited daylight due to the fact we left Dwellingup around 2pm. At least we found something in the Jarrah forest closer to Dwellingup. Our next stop is still Jarrah/Marri forest however is closer to Quindanning. This spot never fails to disappoint. We find Banded greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata) and Little pink fairy orchids (Caladenia reptans subsp. reptans). Little pink faires are found July to October from Northampton to Esperance.
Also found are more Slender snail orchids (with the lateral sepals nibbled down) an unopened Jug orchid and Donkey orchids. Common donkey orchid (Diuris corymbosa) which are found August to October from Gingin to Bunbury.
Moving along we next stop at Mud Map SE 11 location on Williams-Kondinin Rd. Here we find our first Cowslip orchid (Caladenia flava subsp. flava), in flower for the season. These are found July through December from Geraldton to Israelite Bay.
The most prolific orchid found was another donkey orchid. Small flowered donkey orchid (Diuris porrifolia) which are found late July through September from Perth to Boyup Brook, however Florabase confirms sightings in Local Govt areas of Williams and Narrogin. Our site being in between these 2 towns I am confident of identification.
Also found were Banded greenhoods and Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva) finally open.
Moving on to another Mud Map SE 13 location which will be our last stop as it is getting late. (5.15pm) We race around for the next 30 minutes and find 8 different species which is amazing. Those already found today include : Slender snail orchid, Little pink fairy orchid, Banded greenhood, Small flowered donkey orchid and Cowslip orchid.
Now for the new finds of today: Dark banded greenhood (Pterostylis sanguinea), Cupped banded greenhood (Pterostylis concava) and Crowded banded greenhood (Pterostylis sp. ‘crowded’). The Cupped and Crowded are brand new finds for us in fact. The Cupped are found June to August from Bindoon to Mt Barker whilst the Crowded are found July to September between Katanning and Wongan Hills.
Light is fading fast so we make tracks for Esperance. We arrive home just before midnight….
WA Orchid Adventures 