ORCHIDACEAE

Potato Orchid

 

0.12m - 0.5m (12-50cm) 

inflorescence apex strongly hooked in bud and relatively few uncrowded flowers to 20mm long. 

Papery capsule 

Slender leafless orchid with a brown scape. 

Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Derwent Valley; Dorset; Flinders Island; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Hobart; Huon Valley; Kingborough; Latrobe; Meander Valley; Northern Midlands; Southern Midlands; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar 

Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Heath 

Tall open eucalypt forest, heathy open forest and shrubby woodland, tea tree scrub and heathland on moderately to well-drained sandy and clay soils. Widespread and locally fairly common in lowland areas, mainly in the drier coastal region, but occasionally extending to higher altitudes and areas with higher rainfall. Also in Qld, NSW, ACT and Vic. 

Dry; Exposed; Moist; Shady 

Moderate 

Clay; Loam; Sandy; Well-drained 

self-pollinating. Favours fire prone habitats and flowering is strongly promoted by summer 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.