ORCHIDACEAE

Hyacinth Orchid

 

0.4m - 0.8m (40-80cm) 

Pale pink finely spotted flowers, recurved tips on the perianth segments and a striped labellum. 

Papery capsule 

A large leafless, summer flowering orchid. 

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

Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Heath 

Heathy open forest and woodland on well-drained sandy soils, loams and clays, usually in rather bare spots. Locally quite common in lowland areas up to 400m in south eastern, eastern and northern Tas. including islands off the Furneaux Group. There is an outlying population on Maatsuyker Island off the south coast. Also in Qld., Vic., SA and NSW. 

Exposed; Moist; Shady 

Moderate 

Clay; Loam; Poor; Sandy; Well-drained 

D. roseum was known in Tas. as D. punctatum but has recently been separated (Jones 1991) from that species, which is confined to the mainland. Most of its habitats are dry and fires occur fairly frequently. Populations of this species in the Arthur River are unusual as the plants are growing side by side with Cryptostylis subulata. in permanently moist soils. D. roseum is well represented in reserves. 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.