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 sunny weather to open properly. Probably the most commonly seen orchid is Glossodia major – wax lips, which occurs in open woodland and heathy and grassy locations.
There are Caladenias everywhere – the common Caladenia carnia (pink fingers) are the most common, but also several ‘spiders’ including clavigera, echidnachilla, and if you are lucky, ffilamanetosa.
Other Caladenias likely to be seen are atrata (Dark Caladenia), alata (Fairy Caladenia), gracilis (Dusky Caladenia) and cracens (Graceful Caladenia). This list is not exhaustive!
The sun orchids are at their height from now through November and are common and widely distributed in many bushland environments. I find some of the sun orchids very difficult to identify and do not show many species on my site at the moment for this reason. There will be plenty of subjects on show in any reserve around Hobart at the moment as long as the day is warm and sunny. Otherwise mainly unopened buds will be the order of the day except for a few species a bit less shy of flowering such as ixiodes and rubra.
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