Dear Paul, You are right. We do have many examples of terrestrial orchids.- I remember a field trip with the Maryborough Orchid Society some years ago and in two areas not far form my home on coastal woodlands we identified and photographed in flower 14 different orchids as well as a couple of unidentified Pterostylis. Some momths later we went back and found the area ablaze with Diuris which were not in flower on our first visit and added Cryptostylus to our list as well. This was nearly 20 years ago and when I retire I plan to explore the area thoroughly. I am not sure if it is State Forest or National Park but since the area floods I can't imagine it will ever be developed thank goodness. I can send you the list if you are interested. Shelley Gage near Gympie, Queensland, Australia > Date: Mon, 7 May 2012 10:49:12 +1000 > To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > From: ptyerman@ozemail.com.au > Subject: Re: [pbs] Australian Terrestrial Orchids > > At 11:17 PM 6/05/2012, you wrote: > > >Dear Andrew, There are bulbous orchids like > >Calanthe for example and non-bulbous like many > >Dendrobiums so I guess they are like any other > >group of plants which have bulbous and > >non-bulbous forms so I wouldn't imagine this > >group discussing all orchids only the bulbous > >ones. I will be very interested to see what > >others think.I have yet to visit the Western > >Australian orchid areas but will one day. There > >is an excellent article on them and their > >locations in a recent Australian Native Plant > >Society magazine.Shelley Gage, SE Queensland, Australia > > Shelley et al, > > There are a lot more Aussie terrestrial orchids > than just those over in Western Australia. They > grow throughout NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South > Australia and I am sure you have some relatively > local ones in Queensland too. Pterostylis (or > what used to be that genus, now split into a few > different ones) grow for me here locally, as do a > number of species of Diuris (Donkey Orchids), > Corybas (or their associated types that are now > in different genuses), Beardies, Flying Ducks, > Caladenias, Chiloglottis etc. All these that I > mention are tuberous (and all are fully > deciduous, dying back to some form of tuber > completely buried in the ground) , although some > are extremely hard to grow in cultivation. I > grow probably 20 different Pterostylis, a dozen > or more Diuris, Thelymitras, Chiloglottis, > Corybas (badly! <grin>), as well as any other > non-Aussie terrestrials that I can ever track > down. There are even some Aussie natives like > Microtis unifolia that really are just a weed > here, popping up in pots all over the place. Now > if they were a bit more spectacular that would be > great, but they most definitely aren't!! LOL > > I'm just mentioning this to show that there are a > lot more Aussie terrestrials than just those in > the west. While some of ours over in the East > might not be as breathtaking as some of the > western stuff, they are mostly easier to grow, > and I still get a lot of pleasure out of > them. When the Diuris for example are in flower > you really cannot miss them. I remember as a > child growing up there was a patch of Diuris on > our property (if only we still owned that > property, knowing what I know now about > cultivating them) that was about 2m x 1m and must > have had 200+ flower stems. So beautiful. Now > if only I could grow the Beardies and the Flying Ducks? > > Cheers. > > Paul T. > Canberra, Australia - USDA Zone Equivalent approx. 8/9 > Min winter temp -8 or -9°C. Max summer temp 40°C. > Thankfully, maybe once or twice a year only. > > Growing an eclectic collection of plants from all > over the world including Aroids, Crocus, > Cyclamen, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Galanthus, > Terrestrial Orchids, Irises, Liliums, Trilliums > (to name but a few) and just about anything else that doesn't move!! > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/