This discovery wasn't mine, unfortunately. My friend has a spotted gum forest behind her house and there a visitor found a colony of large tongue orchids (Cryptostylis subulata), uneaten and thriving. This was exactly the species we'd been stalking on the road to Congo before the volcano trip. The colony there was unobliging and refused to flower for us, obviously because it was too early, although their flowering period is listed October – March. I'm partial to tongue orchids because their leaves aren't shy. They poke up and announce their presence rather than sequestering their identity in thick leaf litter. They're pollinated by ichneumon wasps as they try to mate with the flower lip, yet another deception practised by orchidaceae in the interests of procreation.
The enterprising photographer, Lynda Wightman, used toilet paper as background to get a clear shot.
For more photos see
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snippetsandsnaps 
How delicate and beautiful. Orchids are so hard to spot. How lovely to have so many growing locally.
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We’re heading for 30 species, over 7 or 8 years, mind you. It’s an absolute buzz to spot a new one – or even a familiar one. Do you see many on your bush ramblings?
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I am very unaware of orchids unfortunately. I just read in an environmental pamphlet that there are 79 varieties between Port Campbell and the SA border along the coast. There is even a book on them written by a local. I will have to learn more and become more tuned into them. I used to see them when I lived in central Victoria years ago.
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Have never seen or heard of tongue orchids before.They are gorgeous. How clever of your fiend to use textured toilet paper to highlight the colour 🙂
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When I first started photographing plants, carrying a piece of black cardboard was the recommended trick. I never got round to doing this – and my handbag toilet paper would be too scruffy to be much good! I’m off to Myanmar now, thank you.
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The toilet paper also gives a good indication of the size of the orchid and highlights its detail and rich red colouring.
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Have you seen this one before? I really must visit the colony, but last time I was at my friend’s it was rainy and she was recovering from pneumonia.
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No I have never seen that orchid, it is a beauty
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Beautiful — I haven’t seen ones like this before. My mom loves orchids. I’ve seen them growing out in nooks of trees here in FL, notably at the Edison winter estate, but still not as exotic as that one there. Love the toilet paper idea LOL, clever! Sounds like something my husband would come up with. You all sound like such adventurers and world travelers. Have you read (or heard of) the book The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert? Centers around a female botanist’s life at least 100 years ago (fictional of course, but is impressively intertwined with fact). Wren.
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I’ve been in search of orchids for a number of years now, after encountering greenhoods through a magnifying glass. You might be interested in the photographic list: there’s a link to my Picasa album at the bottom of this piece
https://open.abc.net.au/explore/7501
I’ll be seeking out “The signature of all things”. Thanks for the suggestion.
As for adventurers and world travellers, 2015 was a vintage year. My immediate family has been to Warsaw (4 person-trips); Slovakia; Denmark; Panama; Japan (son snowboarding; granddaughter on a school trip); Bali. My Polish lot are half way to Australia right now! And that doesn’t include trips to Queensland and Victoria and in NSW. 2016 will be quieter!
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Hi, I just saw this reply now! Thanks for replying, and I’m going to check out your Picasa album now. Wow, your 2015 family travels sound so fun. Which places do you recommend yourself? Thanks for staying in touch and Happy New Year!
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I loved Croatia and Slovenia, Budapest and Prague – not included in this lot because that trip was 2014. I also relished Cairns, Mossman Gorge and Cooktown in Northern Queensland. Warsaw is now very familiar, but it was my first European foray. Then there’s Jordan, and tragic Syria which I backpacked around in 2000. Anywhere really. Are you a traveller? I didn’t go overseas till I was 50, and then only because my daughter had been wandering around for 4 years and she lived in Cairo and I needed to see her.
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Well, I went to Israel in summer of 2009 and when I was very young to Puerto Rico, as my mother is from the island. My husband and I want to go with our daughter to Ireland. I keep going on and on about Ireland lately around the house, I hope some day to go. I’d also like France and England and Germany and Italy and Belgium and Norway and maybe even Iceland… (daydreams)
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PS is this the link to your Picasa, the one in the comment? If not please send link. Thanks! What I see now looks like a really neat article about Orchids but not necessarily an album.
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The link was at the bottom of the article
https://picasaweb.google.com/115521452370583053305/OrchidSpeciesSpottedInEurobodalla#
Thanks for being interested!
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Oh,wow! What a beauty 🙂 And such nice loo paper!
And because I know you don’t have time to go looking because you’ve de-followed Tish too, temporarily, I’m going to leave you my Lisa walk here, to peruse whenever. 🙂 🙂 http://restlessjo.me/2016/01/04/jos-monday-walk-newstead-abbey/
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I hope I’m back following: I really depend on email notifications to keep track. I’ve read the Lisa link cursorily and I’ll reread at leisure today. Thank you.
(The Polish mob are in the air and more than halfway here, although I won’t see them till the end of January.)
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Oooh, excitement!!! Where are they going first- up north? I’ve just booked flights for me and Dad to Krakow 28th April-12th May. He asked me to go for the 2 weeks because it might be his last trip! Who knows? 🙂
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Brisbane, and to stay with my Stanthorpe daughter. They’re all sick and she’s found an all night medical practice close to the motel, just in case. My Stanthorpe daughter is a forward thinking dynamo!
Two weeks in Kraków. You’ll relish that – and / or I will, vicariously. Maybe we could even manage a coffee? Kraków’s a must for me this time. I’ve only spent a day there, and it’ll give J and me respite! We’re both a bit nervous about lengthy cohabiting.
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What’s wrong with them? Some kind of virus? Fancy flying into that! What a shame 😦
The second week will be with family in Belchatow (an hour south of Lodz) but I’m sure if we put our minds to it we can manage something 🙂
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Fevers and flu. They even contemplated not coming, but they’re in recovery.
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Ah, silly me! I thought it was the Australian family with the lergy 🙂
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I too was intrigued by the leaves of tongue orchids poking up everywhere from the leaf litter of a jarrah forest in Western Australia. But by the time they would have been in flower I had long since returned home to New South Wales. This photo is a consolation.
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Only problem is the red-backed ones can look like eucalypt leaves. The photo is a consolation to me too. I haven’t made a pilgrimage to it yet. I may be lucky.
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When I read up on it I discovered that the WA Cryptostylis orchid is the only WA terrestrial in which the leaves remain throughout the year. The mid-rib is white or cream which makes them easy to spot. That forest had so many that I was really disappointed to miss their profuse glory.
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You’ll have to go back again specially. I just looked for the tongue orchid and it isn’t featured on that lovely calendar. Obviously WA has too much to contain in twelve months.
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