ORCHIDACEAE

Yellow Rock Orchid

 

0.2m - 0.4m (20-40cm) 

Short racemes with 1-3 yellowish flowers that have dark stripes, particularly prominant on the outside of the perianth segments. 

Papery capsule 

Clumping rock dwelling orchid with short, often curved terete leaves. 

 

Coastal Vegetation; Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland 

Tas. endemic. Grows on rack faces and boulders, most commonly granodiorite and granite, occasionally dolerite or sandstone, in open eucalypt forest. Most colonies are found on east facing sites directly exposed to moisture laden sea breezes. 

Exposed; Moist; Windy 

Tender 

Poor; Well-drained 

Dockrilla roots spread widely over the rock surfaces and in crevices. As they are not insulated by soil, the plants are very vulnerable to all but low intensity ground fires. Subsp. chrysantha. is well represented in reserves, but subsp. striolata. is represented only in the Strzelcki NP. 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.