ORCHIDACEAE

Purple Beard Orchid

 

0.15m - 0.45m (15-45cm) 

widely spreading perianth segments, purple labellum hairs with the basal ones reduced to small purple calli, and 2 prominant dark purple eye spots at the base of the column wings. 

Papery capsule 

Robust beard orchid with a keeled, ribbed leaf. 

Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Coast; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Glenorchy; Hobart; Huon Valley; Kentish; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Sorell; Southern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar 

Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Grassy Vegetation; Heath; Sedgeland and Wetland 

Heathy and grassy open eucalypt forest, tea tree scrub and heathland on well drained sandy, loamy, clay and stoney soils. Widespread and common in lowland areas up to 350m, including a number of Bass Strait Islands, but is most abundant in the drier eastern, midland and south eastern parts of the state. Also in Qld. NSW., ACT., Vic., SA. and NZ. 

Exposed; Moist; Shady 

Moderate 

Clay; Loam; Poor; Sandy; Well-drained 

Suitable below powerlines. 

 

Standard 

 

 

Orchid seeds are very minute yellow, brown or blackish dust-like particles. Orchid seeds are produced within a capsule that splits at maturity and releases tousands to millions of seeds. Dispersed by wind and water and only germinate following infection of the embryo by a suitable mycorrhizal fungus. Very few seeds become mature plants. For more information see Jones, Wapstra, Tonelli, Harris (1999): The Orchids of Tasmania.