Tasmanian Native Orchids
About Tasmanian Orchids
Tasmania has around 196 different native orchid species but changes to nomenclature constantly occur so this figure varies. Over 60 are endemic – only found in Tasmania. They represent a significant part of the flora of Tasmania and are fascinating plants for many reasons.
Many orchid species have short flowering times and can be difficult to locate in the field. Some have very local distribution meaning they occur in just a few small spots over a wide area. Outside of the Spring and Summer flowering species, many are green, brown and other muted colours so tend to blend in with the surrounding vegetation. Finding them can be a challenge. While there is a large ‘flowering flush’ in the Spring and early Summer, at least one or more species can be found at any time of the year within a 30-minute drive of Hobart.
Fortunately, Tasmanian orchids are now well documented and a number of identification tools are available – see the reference list below.
Whats flowering around Hobart?
(The following notes are based mainly on what I see around Hobart and are by no means an exhaustive list of what might be found flowering in Tasmania)
What a contrast to 12 months ago! Lush vegetation and a great showing of orchids from all the usual sites around Hobart is the order of the day this Spring…Continue Reading
Summer and Autumn 2024 The rainfall at Hobart during 2023 was some 200 ml below the long term average (450ml compared with 650 ml aprox.). We saw a number of…Continue Reading
Looking back a year ago, the ‘problem’ for orchid enthusiasts was too much wet weather. The sun orchids refused to bloom, there was a lot of rain and grey skies….Continue Reading
October 2022 One of the wettest Springs I can remember has made getting into the field more challenging than usual. It’s always interesting to consider if seasonal variations affect our…Continue Reading
Whats Flowering around Hobart Feb/Mar 2022 The late summer period for orchids in Tasmania is less productive than the previous few months. This is the time of the year to…Continue Reading
Whats Flowering: Tasmanian Orchids January 2022 Tasmanian orchids January 2022Tasmanian orchid flowering slows down a lot during summer though there are some very interesting finds to be made. Generally the…Continue Reading
December 2021 Like November and October this year, there has been far more wet weather than usual and this has affected orchid flowering. The genus obviously adversely affected is Theymitra,…Continue Reading
Nov 2021 October and November seem to be the most prolific months for orchids around Hobart. The species we see in October are generally still showing and the Bearded orchids…Continue Reading
Oct 2021 The Spring flowering is in full swing in Southern Tasmania now though the wet and cloudy weather is making things difficult for the sun orchids which like warm…Continue Reading
Diary Notes for Previous Months
See the Whats Flowering page for previous months flowering notes
Tasmanian Native Orchid Website
My site records images of Tasmanian native orchids captured in the field mainly around Hobart but also from a few sites further afield on the East Coast and far South East. Species are displayed alphabetically by genus. This is a long-term project to record photographs taken in the field so check back again for more images.
These are amateur observations simply based on my own experience in the bush and do not claim to be botanically correct.
Each month I update the site with details of the latest observations.
All photographs are the author’s own work and copyright applies but if you have any interest in any of these images let me know.
Useful links for orchid hunters
- Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas
- Tasmanian Orchids Facebook Page
- The Tasmanian Orchids. Jones, Wapstra, Tonelli, Harris. Melbourne Uni Press 1999. ISBN 0 522 84851 6. Hard cover, 317 pages. Out of print but worth searching for
- Native Orchids of Tasmania (App). An excellent field guide . Now free and regularly updated.The Essential guide to Tasmanian Native orchids with descriptions, key, locations and very useful notes.
