Peter Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 In late October 2006, myself and a group of friends visited Dryandra Forrest near Narrogin, Western Australia. Dryandra is an area of remnant forest on the Western edge of the Western Australia Wheat belt and escaped clearing because it is the home of the Brown Mallet tree whose bark was harvested to make tannins for the leather industry. The forest is home to remnant populations of many rare marsupials and is the site of a breeding and reintroduction program for Bilbys, woylies and several other endangered species. I hadn't actually expected to see any CP's during this trip but was pleasantly surprised to find three species of Drosera, I also found a few varieties of Stylidiums, a couple of orchids and lots of wildlife. Once again my plant ID skills are very poor so I would welcome any assistance with ID One of the highlights of the weekend was a 16 KM walk that took us from the village into some very nice wandoo forest walking along a small track something orange caught my eye on closer inspection i found these I would appreciate your help with an ID for this group please. Nearby was this sylidium ID unknown ( check out this great site to see why sylidiums are called trigger plants http://www.gdaywa.com/wildflowers/triggerplants.php) and then the Purple enamel orchid - Elythranthera Brunonis - (orchids are easier to identify) and closer and nearby some cowslip orchids (Caladenia flava) and crossing the road we found this fellow, a bobtail (Tiliqua rugosa) and this well camouflaged beast The Next drosera find was this one Growing in an area near the small dam that supplies the village these plants were growing with small ephemeral annuals. They are up to 10 centimetres high and one carried a closed pink petalled flower once again I have no idea on the species name. Any ideas? and lastly these tiny plants pushing themselves up through the leaf litter under a stand of casuarinas in flower but with tiny rosettes approx 4 mm across. I think they are D. glanduligera ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Spence Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Lovely! The first Drosera seems to be D. hyperostigma, the second is D. menziesii ssp. menziesii and the third D. glanduligera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikei Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 is the weather hot and humid in Dryandra Forrest near Narrogin, Western Australia? i was just wondering cause some of those flowers like the Purple enamel orchid are absolutly stunning!! (cause i want to grow them.) Great find Mikei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Spence Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 i was just wondering cause some of those flowers like the Purple enamel orchid are absolutly stunning!! (cause i want to grow them.) I wouldn't be wasting any thoughts on that- there is nobody in the world that sells them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted June 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Hi Mikei The climate here in the south west of Western Australia is Hot but definitely not humid. We have a Mediterranean type climate which means hot dry summers and cool wet winters. Southern California would be about the closest in the US I think. According to "Orchids of South-West Australia" by Hoffman and Brown, the Enamel Orchids have a wide distribution from Kalbarri in the north to Israelite Bay in the east and apparently are most common in the lateritic soils of the Jarrah Forrest. In this case these plants were in the laterite soils (the red rocky soil in the pygmy D. pictures) of the Wandoo forests that grow to the east of the jarrah forest in the lower rainfall areas. As for growing these orchids, Sean is partially right. I don’t think that there is anyone commercially selling these sorts of plants. However, native terrestrial orchids are obtainable if you know the right people. There is a local club that specialises in these terrestrial orchids and one of the local native plant nurseries here in Perth occasionally has some of the more common orchids for sale and occasionally tuberous drosera as well. These are rescue plants - some members of a local wildflower society go in and dig up the tubers on land that is about to be cleared for development. Allan Lowrie also used to have a list of terrestrial orchid tubers and seeds that he sold and this may be the best bet for overseas and interstate enthusiasts. If you’re interested in growing Stylidiums seed is fairly available through various sources. The Nindethana Seed Service ( http://members.iinet.net.au/~nindseed/SL%20index.htm ) has 18 species listed and I have just noticed that they list seeds of 6 tuberous drosera species as well. good luck regards Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted June 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Sean thanks for the IDs. regards Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Gievn the name of the area..... no pictures of any Dryandra? :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted June 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Rob the bush to the left of the twisted Wandoo tree in the second picture is Dryandra. but it wasn't in flower so no closups :cry: i will try to do better in future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-Rah Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 Marvellous. The proteacaea of the SW is astounding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sthomas048 Posted June 6, 2007 Report Share Posted June 6, 2007 The photos on show in this section of the forum are amazing. We should all move to Australia obviously ! No but we have some CPs near to us if we are lucky. Great photos Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Spence Posted June 7, 2007 Report Share Posted June 7, 2007 Thanks for that link Peter, it's one I wasn't aware of. I've seen E. brunonsis growing near Esperance in quite swampy soils, so it seems to have a quite variable habitat. When I said that noone in the world sells it, I was referring to commercial sources. As you say, if you are lucky enough to know someone who can spare a tuberoid you may get your hands on one. Having said that, they can be quite tricky to grow- more difficult than the hardest of the tuberous Drosera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted June 7, 2007 Report Share Posted June 7, 2007 Peter, we're all indebted to you. Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Allan Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Hi Peter, Wonderful photos- thanks for sharing. I particularly like the D. hyperostigma- what a find! Were the rosettes shaded by the leaf litter and surrounding vegetation? Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Superb pictures - some lovely Drosera but the wider habitat shots are the ones that do it for me. SW Australia has some real gems in its flora. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sheila Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Some lovely pictures I especially like the Bobtail lizard . Some of the photos are a bit on the large side. Please try to keep them at the maximum 750 x 750 pixels allowed, so we don't have to scroll back and forth to read the posts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Hi Peter, One word : Fantastic!! Some beautiful plants and wildlife!!! I hope you will go for more weekend trips Iggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khelljuhg Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 Lovely photos :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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