Alexander Bay was our magnificent destination for Saturday afternoon, with friends and family. We enjoyed a wonderful morning on the beach then decided to try our luck at catching some squid at the Westen end of the bay. We parked up on the rocks and whilst the fisher people tried their luck I went for a wander around the vicinity.

Amazingly I actually came across some orchids in flower. Given the location and habitat I found them in I believe them to be the Granite bunny orchid (Eriochilus pulchellus), which is recorded as flowering during the months of April and May between Northcliffe and Bremer Bay then Esperance and Balladonia. Alexander Bay is located in the later range. However, the later reference book (The Complete Orchids of Western Australia) has separated the eastern range into its own subspecies of E. dilatatus. Applied name is E. dilatatus subsp. ‘eastern granites’. Another distinguishing feature is the small smooth margined leaf when compared to E. dilatatus subsp. dilatatus and E. dilatatus subsp. undulatus which are both recorded as occurring this far East.