Another sunny winters day so what better thing to do than to look for orchids. However, this time I am accompanied on my wander by my latest grandchild, Bonnie and her mum of course. Not too much was found however I will list those found below with pics to confirm the sightings.
Mosquito orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta) is a species found between Perth and Israelite Bay. They flower June to August and can rise to 300mm in height. It has the largest labellum out of the 4 species found in WA.
Curled-tongue shell orchid (Pterostylis rogersii) is a species found between Binningup and Esperance. They flower June to August and can rise to 200mm in height. It is one of the 7 species found in WA.
Eastern granite snail orchid (Pterostylis voigtii) is a species with a restricted range between Esperance and Israelite Bay. They flower July to early September and only rise to 50mm in height. This species was only named in 2015.
Another day solo, as Deb enjoys a weekend away. Today I will head out west of Esperance. 1st stop: Walk trail near Pink Lake Lookout – First up, some good-sized Caladenia sp. leaves are found alongside the bitumen track. Then I head off the track into the surrounding scrub and it is here I find the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) flowering. Also found some Shell orchids and Mosquito orchids sprouting.
2nd stop: Wind Farm Rd – Along the side of the walk track to the now dismantled wind turbines the Mosquito orchids (Cyrtostylis robusta) are found flowering, whilst only the upright rosettes of the Bird orchids are found. A little off the tracks the Shell orchid rosettes are found as are the Pink fairy leaves. Then growing in the moss, right on the edge of the bitumen in the carpark area I find a lone, Blue beard (Pheladenia deformis)standing tall. Well actually only around 40mm in this particular case. This is the first time finding the species flowering at this location, which was exciting.
C. robustaC. robustaP. deformisP. deformisP. deformis
Nothing out of the ordinary found today, other than the Blue beard. It was a beautiful sunny winters day to go walking in the fresh air though, so well worth the effort.
After a fun night sharing Father’s Day with my brother in Dwellingup, we awake to a fine sunny day. Then after breakfast, we make tracks for the coastal plain. The first orchid stop for the day is at an unnamed Nature Reserve on Burnside Road in Meelon. First up we find the old faithful Cowslip orchid (Caladenia flava subsp. flava)which comes in varying shades of yellow and with varied markings. Unlike last year, this is the only orchid species found.
Slightly disappointed, we move on to Manea Park (Mud Map SW5) near Bunbury. After parking up, we immediately hit the walking trail, however, it takes a little while to find our first orchid. We spend just over and hour walking the loop path and we find many orchids. Donkey orchids are found and I believe some of them to be the Kemerton donkey orchid (Diuris cruenta)which flowers late August to October in a restricted range from Capel to Lake Clifton. A distinguishing feature listed in my reference book, is the lateral lobes to the labellum are yellow at their base and reddish at the tip. Other donkey orchids are found that may be a different species, as on a previous visit, I named 3 species found in the Bunbury area.
Broad petalsReddish brown markings
Another orchid found throughout the park was the snail orchid. From what i can tell they mostly resemble the Red sepaled snail orchid (Pterostylis erubescens) due to the colouring of the flower, the numerous stem leaves and long lateral sepals.
Red colouring to dorsal sepalSmall rosette and numerous stem leavesLong uniformly thickened lateral sepals
Then some stunning spider orchids are found. The large white spider orchid appear to be the Coastal white spider orchid (Caladenia longicauda subsp. calcigena) due the location only, as the features of the subspecies are all similar in C. longicauda. However others seem to match the Sandplain white spider orchid (Caladenia speciosa) which has long messy labellum fringe segments and may also be found in this location. As per usual any input in identification would be welcomed.
As usual the good olde Cowslip orchid (Caladenia flava subsp. flava) shows up, as does the common Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva). Even though they are common orchids, it is still nice to come across some in this location.
A first for this location is also found, which is exciting. The Purple enamel orchid (Elythranthera brunonis) is one of two species in this Western Australian endemic genus. This particular orchid was being watched over by a local Bobtail (Tiliqua rugosa subsp. rugosa).
Petals and sepals similar in size and shapeDistinctive feature: 2 large black basal calliTiliqua rugosa subsp. rugosa
Other common orchids found along the walk include the Banded greenhood (Pterostylis vittata) and the small Mosquito orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta)which was found growing around the base of a large tree.
Possible pollinator restingCan grow to 300mm in heightBroad elongated labellum
Another small patch of snail orchids is found. From the hairy stem , to the pointed hood, it all leads to me believe they are more Red sepaled snail orchids. A very darkly marked donkey orchid is also found. Could possibly be the Purple pansy orchid (Diuris longifolia) or just a darker version of the Kemerton donkey orchid. Again, let me know your thoughts.
Pointed hoodsHairy stemsPurple pansy orchid ???
Had to grab a pic of how tall the donkey orchids were, before we leave Manea Park. We then made our way into Bunbury to the Farmers Market to have lunch and buy some supplies. On the highway welcoming people into Bunbury was a large billboard featuring the wonderful Cowslip orchids. Had to grab a pic of that as well. From here we make our way into the hills to check out the Wellington Dam mural. What an amazing sight, so of course it made it as the feature picture for this post. Finding a camping site took a while but we set ourselves up for the night and enjoyed another night under the stars in the great outdoors.
Day one of our annual road trip. This time however we are travelling with a larger group and are heading up into the Pilbara, where orchids are not located, so I will be recording only the days which include finding orchids. We leave home at 7.45am and head up to West Beach to say goodbye to our grandkids, then as we are over that way we call into the Wind Farm for a quick gander.
Here we find the Mosquito orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta), Curled-tongue shell orchid (Pterostylis rogersii)and Pink fairies (Caladenia latifolia).Deb grabs some quick snaps before we head off west towards Munglinup.
Deb drops me off at the cleared block near the Munglinup Roadhouse, whilst she goes to the toilet. Walking back to meet her I find some donkey orchids in flower. From my knowledge or the area they are either Green Range donkey orchids (Diuris littoralis) or South coast donkey orchids (Diuris brockmanii) which have very similar features and distribution.
From here we head to Ravensthorpe then north to Lake King, where we have a tavern lunch. With full bellies we head west toward Lake Grace. However along the way we look into the verge at South Buniche Nature Reserve. Here we locate 3 different species in the Pterostylis genre. First up is the common Jug orchid (Pterostylis recurva) followed by some snail orchids. These little guys could possibly be two different species due to their colouring and rosettes. The final orchid is the unique Frog greenhood (Pterostylis sargentii).
Jug orchidBrittle or Fawn ??Small pointed leaf rosetteFawn snail orchids??Frog greenhood with labellum triggeredLabellum not triggered
We now move onto our planned overnight stay, the Jam Patch, in North Lake Grace. We expected other campers to be here, however we lucked into being all alone. Before setting up camp fully we venture off on the Red loop walk trail in search of orchids. Hairy-stemmed snail orchids (Pterostylis setulosa) are the first orchid to be found.
Red Loop Trail walkedLateral sepals 10 – 35mm in length1 – 3 stem leavesCommon name is apparent
At the edge of a flat granite rock I was lucky enough to stumble across some spider orchids. From the location alongside a granite rock I will take a stab and name these the Chameleon spider orchid (Caladenia dimidia)which occurs between Paynes Find and Norseman during July to September.
It was great to find some spider orchids as it was looking like a Pterostylis type of day. We kept walking the trail and came to the lake which provided great reflection shots and is where the featured image was taken. The only other orchids found though were a great bunch of more Hairy-stemmed snail orchids. So I have posted a photo just to show the number of orchids in such a small location. Also posted a pic of our camp for the night. Was a nice day to start our road trip. Not as many orchid stops as usual, but this trip we are travelling much larger distances.
Running solo again today as Deb has an afternoon shift. I decide to go back to the Wind Farm to see if the Bird orchids have flowered yet. I discovered many rosettes back on the 11/07/2021, so it’s been 4 weeks.
After parking up, I start at the left of the parking lot and find some snail orchids in flower. Very difficult to name snail orchids. The size of the rosette and it’s leaves, length of lateral sepals and plant height varied greatly so there may actually be at least 2 species. Possible options are the Coastal snail orchid (Pterostylis sp. “coastal snail”), Ravensthorpe snail orchid (Pterostylis grossa)or Thick-sepalled snail orchid (Pterostylis meridionalis).
Rosette
Size comparison
Rosette
I then started up the walking track and ran into a fellow orchid hunter, Kathy M. She was interested in the ID of a snail orchid she had found that had fawnish tones to it as well as one that seemed to have different rosette to others she had found. ID proves difficult and the species may be one of the previously listed options.
We spent quite a while checking out the Mosquito orchids (Cyrtostylis robusta) and the intermingled Bird orchid (Pterostylis sp.) rosettes, which unfortunately have yet to flower.
Broad, elongated labellum
Up to 8 flowers per orchid
Thin sepals and petals
Kathy was going to check further down the road towards the coast, whilst I went into the scrub looking for the Pink fairy orchids (Caladenia latifolia) which Kathy had mentioned she had found. Three beautiful flowers found in full bloom. They were a very pale shade of pink, almost white in patches.
Palest of pink
Leaf up to 150mm in length
Upright dorsal sepal
Common name is apparent
Tri-lobed labellum
Stiffly spreading peals and sepals
Flowering near the Pink fairies are some Curled tongue shell orchids (Pterostylis rogersii), which are a coastal shell orchid found from Binningup to Esperance.
Reddish-brown and white orchid
Common name apparent
Dep ‘V’ shaped sinus
3 – 5 stem leaves
Hairy edged labellum
I spend a few more minutes checking the area and come across further mosquito and shell orchids. I walk back to the car and head back towards the coast. A little ways down the track Kathy had parked up and was fossicking in the roadside scrub. I enquired if she had located much, to which she replied – there are some helmet orchids flowering. I pull over and take some photos of the small Crystal helmet orchid (Corybas limpidus) which flower during the period July to early September over a coastal range between Walpole and Esperance.
Smooth, green, rounded leaf
Burgundy blotched flower
Dorsal sepal still growing
Large , incurved labellum
Other snail orchids found, which all have different features, which makes the task of identification very difficult. I have posted a flower and rosette shot for each distinct orchid and if you can provide any ideas on the likely identification, please do not hesitate to comment.
Light fawnish colouringSmall rosetteFawn tip to the hoodPointed leaves to rosetteUniform green colouringLarge uniformly shaped rosette
Now I head off to discover a new location to explore. Another orchid hunter Geoff R, advised me of this location on Twilight Beach Road near Observatory Point. Pulling over onto the limestone I jump out an immediately start exploring the low wind swept coastal scrub. Firstly had to watch my step as there are so many mosquito orchid leaves. Luckily I find one in flower as these orchids flower from June to August, so it is getting towards the end of their season.
Birdseye view
Broad, dark labellum
Lateral sepals just visible under labellum
Further into the scrub I come across some beautiful little snail orchids with dark sepals, both lateral and dorsal. Still unable to name these confusing little orchids. Moving back towards the car I find 3 Caladenia sp. orchids tempting me with there buds.
Small rosette
Fawn lateral and dorsal sepals
Side and rear views
Unknown orchid
Just too early
Along the vehicle track into the scrub, I come across many more snail orchids which only add to the confusion of ID.
Walking back however, I also discover some Banded greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata) still in flower. Closer to the Triton I push back into the scrub and are rewarded with a couple of Curled-tongue shell orchids, mosquito orchids and a Caladenia sp. orchid in bud.
Banded greenhood
Curled-tongue shell orchid
Mosquito orchid
Caladenia sp. leaf
3.47 pm so time to move on. Plan was to pop up to Dempster Head and see if the Spectacled donkey orchid was flowering, however I change my mind and pull into Chapmans Point instead. Nothing found on the lookout walk so just made my way down towards the point and checked out underneath shrubs and around the granite rocks.
Have a guess what I found first. That’s right, some more confusing snail orchids. Also found other mosquito orchids in flower. It was an amazing warm sunny winters afternoon, so finding the orchids that I have, just made the day even better. Now time for home.
As Deb has an afternoon shift, I am home alone at 2.30 pm, so what to do? Revisit my new location from 2 weeks ago sounds like a plan. So back to Pink Lake Lookout I go.
I make a bee line for the area I found the emerging shell orchids last time. There were more Caladenia leaves, some with small buds, and many Banded greenhoods (Pterostylis vittata) still in flower along the way.
I approach the location from above the shrub rather than below and it provides a better view. I am very happy to discover numerous orchids are now in flower. They are Curled-tongue shell orchids (Pterostylis rogersii) which are a coastal orchid found between Binningup and Esperance. As with all shell orchids they grow in colonies which makes for tricky photographs, as there are so many rosettes that need to be avoided. Even though there may be lots of rosettes in the colony, only a few orchids actually flower each season.
Now I move back towards the track and locate the Mosquito orchid leaves which were in bud last visit. Unfortunately they have yet to flower. Not to worry as Deb has advised me that there are Mosquito orchids flowering at the Wind Farm, so I walk back to the Ford and head off to visit there.
After parking the Ford, I make my way along the walk track to the Wind turbine. It is along the edge of the track that I locate the Mosquito orchid (Cyrtostylis robusta) in flower. I happily sit down on the ground to grab a few snaps.
More mosquito orchids are found further along the track and then a very dark specimen catches my eye. I kneel down to grab some snaps and whilst doing this I notice that there are bird orchid rosettes growing underneath the nearby shrub. Oh my this is awesome. I will now have to re-visit this location later in the season to see if any of them flower.
Bird orchid rosettes
Bird orchid rosette
No further orchids are found on the small walkway from the Wind turbine to a lookout. I take in the amazing view over the bay and the Nine Mile Wind Farm. I am actually in the 10 Mile Lagoon Wind Farm which I found out by reading the information at the picnic shelter. I did not know there were 2 wind farms built about 10 years apart. We learn something new everyday LOL.
View from 10 Mile Lagoon Windfarm
I go for a wander before returning to the Ford and come across more mosquito orchid leaves and bird orchid rosettes, which confirms that I will have to return later. A great 2 hours spent in the outdoors on a cold winters Sunday.
We awake to a cool morning, so I take Deb around exploring the area whilst the camper dries out. We discover other orchids as well as the ones I found yesterday afternoon, so the wander around was worth the effort.
Nunijup Lake
Tangled white spider orchid
(Caladenia longicauda subsp. redacta)
Small flowered donkey orchid
(Diuris porrifolia)
Jug orchid
(Pterostylis recurva)
Tenterden yellow spider orchid
(Caladenia straminichila)
Common spider orchid
(Caladenia varians)
Banded greenhood
(Pterostylis vittata)
Little pink fairies
(Caladenia reptans subsp. reptans)
Leaping spider orchid
(Caladenia macrostylis)
Well our next planned location is the amazing Stirling Range National Park, which is quite a distance, so we pack up the camper. We spy more orchids as we slowly leave our campsite, so grab some photos. Finally on the road, with high expectations for the day.
Stirling Range National Park
Cowslip orchid
(Caladenia flava subsp. flava)
Dancing spider orchid
(Caladenia discoidea)
Hare orchid
(Leporella fimbriata)
Western wheatbelt donkey orchid
(Diuris brachyscapa)
Pink bunny orchid
(Eriochilus scaber subsp. scaber)
Little pink fairies
(Caladenia reptans subsp, reptans)
Silky blue orchid
(Cyanicula sericea)
Sugar orchid
(Ericksonella saccharata)
Jug orchid
(Pterostylis recurva)
Blood spider orchid
(Caladenia filifera)
Joseph’s spider orchid
(Caladenia polychroma)
Blue beard
(Pheladenia deformis)
Lemon-scented sun orchid
(Thelymitra antennifera)
Banded greenhood
(Pterostylis vittata)
Rabbit orchid
(Leptoceras menziesii)
Red beaks
(Pyrorchis nigricans)
Common bee orchid
(Diuris decrementa)
??? spider orchid
(Caladenia sp.)
Zebra orchid
(Caladenia cairnsiana)
Ravensthorpe snail orchid
(Pterostylis sp. ‘Ravensthorpe’)
Mosquito orchid
(Cyrtostylis robusta)
Frog greenhood
(Pterostylis sargentii)
Yawning leek orchid
(Prasophyllum hians)
Well we were not disappointed. At least 22 orchid species found which blows our minds. The bush fire caused devastation, however the regrowth of the Australian bush is amazing. It’s now 4pm so we had better move on and find our overnight camp.
Kingia in flower following the bush fire
We struggled to find a camping location so made the decision to book into one of the Gnowangerup Hotel units for the night. We enjoyed a wonderful bar meal and bevy.
We wake up to another beautiful morning in the forest. After breakfast we pack up the camper and head back along the track. Before leaving the state forest though we have one more exploration.
Highbury State Forest
Small flowered donkey orchid
(Diuris porrifolia)
Jug orchid
(Pterostylis recurva)
Dark banded greenhood
(Pterostylis sanguinea)
Primrose spider orchid
(Caladenia xantha)
Little pink fairies
(Caladenia reptans subsp. reptans)
Lemon-scented sun orchid
(Thelymitra antennifera)
Pterostylis sp.
Mosquito orchid
(Cyrtostylis robusta)
Dancing spider orchid
(Caladenia discoidea)
Blue beard
(Pheladenia deformis)
Cowslip orchid
(Caladenia flava subsp. flava)
Sugar orchid
(Ericksonella saccharata)
In my little black book I recorded finding 2 wispy complex spider orchids and 2 greenhoods, however whilst making this post I am now unsure so I only posted one of each. Please let me know your thoughts on if there is 1 or 2 types.
Ok so now we move onward to our next location. Piesseville is one of our favourite locations as we regularly find numerous species of orchids. Let us hope this visit proves successful.
Piesseville-Tarwonga Road
Blue beard
(Pheladenia defromis)
Cowslip orchid
(Caladenia flava subsp. flava)
Joseph’s spider orchid
(Caladenia polychroma)
Small flowered donkey orchid
(Diuris porrifolia)
Green spider orchid
(Caladenia falcata)
Chapman’s spider orchid
(Caladenia chapmanii)
Sugar orchid
(Ericksonella saccharata)
?? banded greenhood
(Pterostylis sp.)
Banded greenhood
(Pterostylis vittata)
Well as usual the Piesseville location did not disappoint, however we must move on. We head back to the Albany Highway and head north to Williams, where we turn west towards Quindanning. Our next stop is in a patch of bush along the Pinjarra – Williams Road where we have found orchids on previous visits.
Pinjarra-Williams Road
Silky blue orchid
(Cyanicula sericea)
Dark banded greenhood
(Pterostylis sanguinea)
??? donkey orchid
(Diuris sp.)
Banded greenhood
(Pterostylis vittata)
Leaping spider orchid
(Caladenia macrostylis)
Little pink fairies
(Caladenia reptans subsp. reptans)
Jug orchid
(Pterostylis recurva)
Slender snail orchid
(Pterostylis crispula)
Common spider orchid
(Caladenia varians)
It is nearly 3.30 in the afternoon so we had better move on, so that we will arrive at our overnight destination before sunset. We head north to Marradong then westwards to Dwellingup. No time to stop in either location as we move on to Meelon, where we will stay at the property of Megan, our niece. This will be our home for a few nights as we take the time to catch-up with relatives.
On my planned RDO I revisit Dempster Head (Mud Map SE 34), this time in the company of my dearest Deb, who only has the morning free, due to her night shift roster. We head off in the direction of the helmet orchids and like my last visit the snail orchids are first orchids found. ID again up in the air.
Then Deb finally gets to see the little Crystal helmet orchids (Corybas limpidus) in flower at Dempster Head. We visit two of my three known locations and capture some more photos of theses small orchids.
Also found were Mosquito orchids (Cyrtostylis robusta) in various locations along the track. I used a nearby rock once to assist with focusing, as the overcast day made focusing on these small orchids rather difficult.
Deb then finds some shell orchids in flower… So Happy as it has been a few years since we last found them on Dempster Head. The Curled-tongue shell orchid (Pterostylis rogerii) is a southern coastal shell orchid found between Binningup and Esperance. The rosettes of unflowering orchids are commonly found with only a few orchids flowering usually located. Oddly enough flowering shell orchids lack that same rosette.
A small patch of yellow catches our eye and we are rewarded with finding the Spectacled donkey orchid (Diuris conspicillata) which is geographically restricted to coastal granite outcrops near Esperance. The dark markings on the labellum lateral lobes are said to give the orchid the impression it is wearing spectacles.
After nearly 2 hours searching for orchids it time to head home so Deb can have a rest before her shift starts at 2pm.
To get the most out of my RDO, after Deb heads off to work, I decide to go check out another location close to town. We refer to this spot as our Myrup location. Parking up just after 3pm I am shocked to find that someone had decided to dump a large amount of household rubbish in the bush, rather than pay at the Shire refuse site. Some people make you shake your head in their total disrespect for the environment. To add to this horror the Shire has also graded the road verges and widened the road so a lot of gravel and destroyed vegetation has just been pushed onto the vegetated verge.
It is right on the edge of this devastation that I come across some beautiful Esperance king spider orchids (Caladenia decora)flowering in various colours. Some may actually be hybrids with the Esperance white spider orchids or similar.
Across the road I come across many more in flower, with more still to come, given they are recorded as flowering from mid-August to October.
In the middle of these large bright king orchids I come across some small white spider orchids. The Common spider orchid (Caladenia varians) is a widespread orchid occurring between Kalbarri and Esperance. These little guys were definitely dwarfed by the large Esperance king spider orchids.
A successful RDO spent searching for orchids now comes to an end. Work tomorrow 😦
WA Orchid Adventures 