List of the orchids of Western Australia

Diuris brumalis - Donkey Orchid

Among the many wildflowers in Western Australia, there are around one thousand species of orchids.

Early identifications

One of the first botanists to study Western Australia was Archibald Menzies, aboard HMS Discovery, who explored King George Sound in 1791. Many of the samples (including orchids) were lost in the return to England, but those that did survive were documented in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, published by Robert Brown in 1810.

The first three orchids from Western Australia to be named were Calaenia menziesii (named after Menzies), Caladenia flava, and Diuris longifolia.

In 1802 Robert Brown himself collected 500 specimens of flora from Western Australia, including:

In West Australian Orchids (1930), Emily Pelloe described and illustrated an extensive survey. She provided an English text, paintings, and drawings for the amateur reader, a mixture of impression and scientific illustration of the genera.

Orchids of South Western Australia

Common name Genus No. species in southwest W.A. Remarks
Babe-in-a-cradle Epiblema 1
Beak orchids Burnettia 1
Beard orchids Calochilus 27
Blue orchids Cyanicula 10
Bunny orchids Eriochilus 9
Donkey orchid Diuris >50
Duck orchids Paracaleana 13
Elbow orchid Spiculaea 1
Enamel orchids Elythranthera 2
Greenhoods Pterostylis ~200
Hammer orchids Drakaea 10
Hare orchid Leporella 1
Helmet orchids Corybas ~130
Leafless orchid Praecoxanthus 1
Leek orchids Prasophyllum 110
Mignonette orchids Microtis 20 also Onion orchid
Mosquito orchids Cyrtostylis 5
Potato orchids Gastrodia 61 also Bell orchid
Pygmy orchids Genoplesium 30–40
Rabbit orchid Leptoceras 1
Rattle beaks Lyperanthus 2
Slipper orchids Cryptostylis 23 also Tongue orchid
South African orchids Disa bracteata 1 introduced
Spider orchids Caladenia 243
Sun orchids Thelymitra ~93
Underground orchids Rhizanthella 3

References

Diuris
plate III from West Australian Orchids, 1930
  1. Heberle, Ron L. "History of Orchid Collecting in Western Australia, 1791 - 1971". The Species Orchid Society of Western Australia (Inc). Retrieved 2005-09-29. 

Further reading

External links

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