Southern Tablelands, Ngunnawal Country, NSW and South West Slopes, Wiradjuri Country
Or one might say galorchids, if one made terrible puns all the time…
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here and a lot has happened. For one, I have a new job where I mostly work on plants, including several orchid species. Needless to say I have fallen deep into the orchid rabbit-hole and have been looking for them everywhere. There are upwards of 1400 Australian orchid species after all! But more on that later…
Yellow Box woodland, Bungendore NSW
Recently, I was out on a property near Bungendore with some volunteers, protecting a threatened orchid species (hashtag secret orchid business). It’s a lovely property full of Yellow Box woodland and all the wonders that come with it. So far we have found seven orchid species just in a small area and I would not be surprised if there were more out there! This post will be about the three species of Donkey Orchids (Diuris sp.) found in the area.
Leopard Orchids (D. pardina) and Tiger Orchids (D. sulphurea) are both widespread and common in the Southern Tablelands*, so it was not surprising to see upwards of 50 plants scattered through the woodland. Both yellow donkey orchids with red-brown blotches on them, they are often confused with each other. Note that sulphurea has two distinct spots on the dorsal sepal (the topmost petal of the “head” of the flower, in between the “ears”), whereas pardina generally has darker blotches, but not the two on the dorsal sepal.
Diuris sulphurea near Bungendore NSW
Diuris pardina at Brooks Hill Reserve NSW
However, what was most exciting was a small patch of Purple Donkey Orchids (Diuris punctata) hidden in amongst the vegetation. Most Diuris species are various shades of yellow, so anything not yellow is worth noting! There were quite a few other purple plant species in flower so at first glance we missed them. I had not seen punctata before so it was very nice to see some looking flash in full flower!
Diuris punctata near Bungendore NSW
Diuris punctata near Bungendore NSW
Diuris punctata near Bungendore NSW
We wouldn’t be talking about orchids if there wasn’t a very similar species found in the same area to confuse us, in this case the Late Mauve Doubletail Orchid (D. dendrobioides). Fortunately, punctata can be distinguished from dendrobioides by the yellow on the labellum (the “tongue” right in the centre of the flower) and less blotchiness. Though in classic orchid fashion dendrobioides can sometimes have yellow on the labellum which makes things extra difficult.
Diuris dendrobioides near Boorowa NSW
Diuris dendrobioides near Boorowa NSW
I found these dendrobioides near Boorowa in November 2020. Note the more distinct blotchiness, less uniform purple colouring, and lack of yellow on the labellum (well, no yellow on the first plant…). I checked these plants last week and they were still putting up buds, so hopefully they will be in flower next time I visit that site and I can get some photos with my proper camera.
I hope you enjoyed this foray into Donkey Orchids. There are over 60 Diuris species in Australia and at least 14 in the Southern Tablelands, so we’ve barely scratched the surface!
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*according to the wonderful Field Guide to Orchids of the Southern Tablelands of NSW inc. the ACT. I highly recommend this book if you are into orchids and live in or near the Southern Tablelands, though it looks like it might be sold out most places. Two of the authors, Jean Egan and Roger Farrow often volunteer with me during fieldwork and have been founts of knowledge as well as wonderful human beings.