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Scientific Name
Spiranthes australis
Family Name
ORCHIDACEAE
Common Name
Pink Spiral Orchid
Status
Height
0.25m - 0.45m (25-45cm)
Flowers
brilliant pink and white (rarely wholey white) flowers arranged in a dense spiral.
Fruit
Papery capsule
Form
Summer flowering orchid with a loose basal rosette of lanceolate leaves.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Highlands; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Glenorchy; Huon Valley; King Island; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Southern Midlands; Tasman; West Coast; West Tamar
Communities
Heath; Montane Vegetation; Sedgeland and Wetland
Habitat Notes
Grows in wet to poorly drained marshes and sedgelands on peaty or silty soils that are usually waterlogged in winter and spring. In drier areas plants typically grow around marshes in a narrow strip between dry ground and the permanently inundated centre. Widespread and locally fairly common throughout the state including King Is. from lowland to 800m. Also in Qld, NSW, ACT, Vic. and SA.
Site Tolerance
Exposed; Moist; Waterlogged
Frost Tolerance
Hardy
Soil Tolerance
Clay; Loam; Poor; Poorly-drained; Sandy
General Notes
Formerly included in the globally distributed S. sinensis. but is now regarded as a distinct Australian species. A population with a wider labellum at Woods Lake in the Central Highlands is under study. In Vic. the flowers are pollinated by the bees Coelioxys albolincata. and Halictus sp. Well represented in reserves. Suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Seed Treatment Method
Standard
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
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.
Germination Time
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
Cutting Notes
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-12-11
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith