ORCHIDACEAE

Beech Orchid

 

0.05m - 0.15m (5-15cm) 

small green and red flowers borne on a fleshy scape. 

Papery capsule 

Small fragile orchid growing in Beech forests, with small, thin, erect pale green to yellowish leaves, 

Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Coast; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Glenorchy; Hobart; Huon Valley; Kentish; Kingborough; Latrobe; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar 

Rainforest; Wet Eucalypt Forest 

Prefers rainforest and tall open eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, usually growing in moss or rotting logs, at the base of trees and occasionally on boulders. Widespread and quite common in the western half of the state from lowland to 1000m, also at Mt Maurice in the north east. Tas. endemic. 

Moist; Shady; Waterlogged 

Moderate 

Clay; Fertile; Loam; Poor; Poorly-drained; Sandy 

Likely to be fire sensitive. Occurs only in mossy, shady situations in permanently moist forests, a habitat that is drastically altered for a prolonged period after fires. 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.