MOSQUITO ORCHID FLOWERING on the Wildflower Walk early June 2017

After installing our new VPOP brochure dispensing sign on the Wildflower Walk on 1.6.17, we noticed this lovely but very, very small Mosquito orchid (Acianthus pusillis) just up slope from the new sign.

Fortunately it is flowering at the base of a photographic label for the Mosquito Orchid.  Can you find the flowers in the location photograph below?

It appears that the flat, heart-shaped leaf was chewed off or possibly torn off during our installing of the sign?

There is at least one more Mosquito Orchid leaf nearby that may produce another flower spike – hope so!  The flowers usually last for a few weeks and can be any time from May to July.

I’m not sure if the are called Mosquito Orchids because the flowers look a bit like flying insects or because they are so tiny.  They are even pollinated by long-legged flies (gnats) that look rather like mosquitoes!

Naturally, they can form large dense colonies.  We are delighted they have survived the floods in September and October last year, as they  usually only occur on well drained soils.

Other native orchids we have noticed sprouting on the Wildflower Walk include pink and white forms of Pink Fairies (Caladenia latifolia), Blunt Greenhoods (Pterostylis curta), Winter-flowering Gnat Orchids (Cyrtostlis robusta) and even one King Spider Orchid (Caladenia tentaculata).  When we get a little more rain , I’m we will notice many of the other orchids as well.

Tim from the Trees for Life work team planted a naturally occurring hybrid donkey orchid in car park island earlier in May and so far it is doing very well.  It should be easy for us all  spot the beautiful colorful flowers there.  The leaves are paired folded grass-like leaves as can be just seen in the photo in front of Tim’s hand on the ground.

Les has delivered our 2017 Native orchid order purchased for us by DEWNR for which we are very grateful. So we will be planting some more orchids soon, including some Sun orchids. Yay.