On the 15th of October twenty-four Canberra residents joined Dean Rouse of the Australian National University for an Orchid Walk on Mt Majura. We were pleased to see, the first time for ourselves, the rare ACT Spider orchid (Arachnorchis actensis). This endangered species grows exclusively in the ACT on certain sites of Mt Majura and Mt Ainslie. The orchids are hard to find indeed, since these little gems rarely exceed ten cm in height and flower only after sufficient rainfall in autumn and early winter. We also found Sun-orchids, which haven’t opened their buds yet, the brilliant blue Wax-lip Orchid (Glossodia major), Leopard Orchids (Diuris pardina) with deep yellow flowers blotched with brown, and Broad-lip Donkey Orchids, a hybrid of the Leopard Orchid and the Golden Moth (Diuris chryseopsis).
Waltraud Pix
ACT Spider Orchid
Broad-lip Donkey Orchids
Broad-lip Donkey Orchids
The Walkers
Leopard Orchid
Wax-lip Orchid
