Seeking Out Australian Native Orchids #5

Weather forecast talked of showers. Not cycling in that. Dragged myself out to walk looking for orchids - raincoat packed. I headed out on the path I walked last Friday. First stop is to test out a different photo technique on a hypericum flower - taken from further away (22 mm) with zoom and manual focus. Big improvement in shaded light.

I then found the spot where I had seen orchids with flowers last week not open. Bad news - 3 plants with flowers which are finished. Good news - there are lots more to see next time. This is the evidence. What is really tough is one does not know until you get home and can blow the photo up a bit

Keep walking and find this opportunity next to the fire-trail roadway. Fits the criteria - 1. one or two leaves close to the ground, 2 - long stem, 3 flower is forming - cannot tell until it emerges to know it is an orchid. If it is, it is new to my sightings.

Well I keep tracking up the hill and up above me on the rock ledge above head height is a splash of colour (if you are on a mobile device - zoom in and look for purple). The last two nights have been a bit warmer - while it is cloudy it is warm enough for the sun orchids to herald spring.

The photographer in me finds a way to scramble up the ledge to get photos. Location all makes sense. This section of bush has been burned off in the last controlled burn. Sun orchids thrive after a burn as do Lobelia Dentata (not an orchid) - tons of those in this segment too. On Friday I had seen sun orchids emerging higher up the hill - almost directly above where I am now [I did not walk this segment last time]

The view down the track includes a few Lobelia Dentata - that is what is in the picture down the track

As I tracked higher up the hill here are literally hundreds in flower alongside the Lobelia Dentata - spring is here. It is so reminiscent of bluebells in an English wood. The beauty of the bush is fabulous and testament to the men who founded this National Park. For the sightings further up the hill I could see the houses high above me. The work now is to positively identify the orchids - they all have spots (some very small) which confirms that they are all Thelymitra ixioides - Dotted Sun Orchid.

Only the close up photos show the dots - study closely

And this is my favourite - a little darker in colour with nice dots and a few drops of water.

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