11/08/2024
A beautiful Sunday afternoon in Esperance so what better way to spend it than looking for orchids.
Where to go today though?
Let’s hit some coastal and near coastal locations to see what we find.
First stop is a coastal Esperance location10
Walking around the marked trail from the car park Deb spies some Snail orchids growing in the scrub. These small orchids appear to be the Southern thick-sepaled snail orchid (Pterostylis meridionalis). They are found in coastal locations between Stokes Inlet and Cape Arid. Flowering from July to September in coastal woodlands and shrublands. If my ID is correct this is only the 2nd time, we have found these, which is exciting.
We now head down the dirt track to toward the granite headland. In the scrubby raised edges to the path, we are pleased to find some helmet orchids. These ones appear to be the Sand hill helmet orchid (Corysanthes despectans) which is found between Bunbury and Israelite Bay. They flower from July to early-September and grow in sandy soils in coastal woodlands and shrublands. They also occur in SA, Vic and Tas.
Now this is a newly discovered species for us so really excited.
Further down the track we come across more rounded leaves. These leaves, however, end up belonging to the Mosquito orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta). This is a widespread orchid which occurs between Perth and Israelite Bay. These flower earlier so are nearing the end of their season, being June to August.
At the end of the track/s before reaching the granite another species of snail orchid is found. This one is likely to be the Eastern granite snail orchid (Pterostylis voigtii) which flowers from July to September. It occurs between Stokes Inlet and Cape Arid, growing in shallow soil pockets over granite.
Moving onto another coastal location 11 . Here we first find some more snail orchids. Some had the slight clubbing to the lateral sepals whilst others did not. I believe the former are Southern thick-sepaled snail orchids whilst the later are Eastern granite snail orchids. Pics of both recorded.
Deb is excited to find a shell orchid. From the location of the orchid, I believe it to be the Curled-tongue shell orchid (Pterostylis rogersii). These orchids flower from June to August between Binningup and Esperance in coastal woodlands and shrublands. Another one is found nearby which is greener in colour but appears to be the same species.
An orchid found in various shades was the Pink fairies (Caladenia latifolia). A common orchid found between Kalbarri and Israelite Bay, flowering during the months August to December.
Another 3 species of orchid are also found. 1 of which have been found previously today: The Mosquito orchid. Newly found are the rosette of a Bird orchid and the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata). Pictures taken for future reference.
Moving onto our third location for the day.12 Here a quick inspection turns up some more Curled-tongue shell orchids.
Last location of the day provides wonderful views over Pink Lake. 13 Here we are amazed to find the Beautiful donkey orchid (Diuris pulchella) growing so close to the coast. I believed it was an inland orchid as it’s range is listed as being between Salmon Gums and Israelite Bay. These stunning orchids flower from July to September.
Another less colourful donkey orchid is also found. Due to our location, I believe this to be the Green Range donkey orchid (Diuris littoralis). Florabase’s map indicates they can occur in coastal locations. Also, their range is listed in my orchid books as being between Denmark and Esperance. The flowering season is July to early-September so it all fits.
Further along the track we come across some more Pink fairies. These ones seem to be pink and white striped which is interesting. Also found a lone Snail orchid, ID unknown. Pics take for recording purposes.
The final orchids found for the day were the large white spider orchids. I now need to decide if they are all the Esperance white spider orchid (Caladenia longicauda subsp. crassa) or maybe different species. What are your thoughts?
We spend several hours exploring our coastal and near coastal locations. Then, we return home happy as we have located so many different types of orchids.
The Sand hill helmet orchid being the find of the day.
I’ll finish this post with one of the beautiful scenes we enjoyed today…
