ORCHIDACEAE

Hybrid Wax-lip Orchid

 

0.08m - 0.2m (8-20cm) 

Solitary purple-blue flower with a heart shaped labellum that has 2-4 basl calli and numerous shorter calli towards the apex. 

Papery capsule 

Narrowly elliptical, sparsley hairy obliquely erect leaf. 

 

Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Grassy Vegetation; Heath 

Heathy and grassy open eucalypt forest and heathland. Very rarely seen. May occasionally be found where C. deformis. and C. major. occur. Curtis (1979) has recorded it from the north and north east and it was also found on Schouten Is. in 1978. Also in Vic. and SA. 

Dry; Exposed; Moist; Shady; Waterlogged; Windy 

Tender 

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

Both C. deformis. and C. major. occur in fire prone habitats and flower abundantly after fires. The hybrid is likely to be found in the first few years following a fire that stimulated flowering of the parent species. Flowering of XCalassodia tutelata. appears to be stimulated by fire the previous summer (Backhouse and Jeanes 1995). The plants representation in reserves is intermediete as this hybrid occurs only occasionally and apparently does not persist. 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.