ORCHIDACEAE

Pale Beard Orchid

 

0.15m - 0.4m (15-40cm) 

Floral segments not spreading widely, and a labellum that has a sparse, often uneven beard, recurved apex and narrow regular blue, sometimes purplish plates not completely covering the base. 

Papery capsule 

Slender beard orchid narrow, short leaf. 

Burnie; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Hobart; Huon Valley; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Northern Midlands; Sorell; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar 

Heath; Sedgeland and Wetland 

Prefers sedgeland and heathland on poorly drained or damp peats, clays and sandy soils. Also in tea tree scrub. Widespread and common in lowland areas except for much of the east coast. Also occurs on King Is and Furneaux Group Is. Tas. endemic. 

Exposed; Moist; Waterlogged 

Tender 

Clay; Loam; Poor; Poorly-drained; Sandy 

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.