South Australian Orchids
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORCHIDS 'AhM\ R. S. ROGERS, M.A., M.D. (EDIN.) SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. J gkiielaiirc: It. E. E. Eogev.s, Government Printer, North T&h'hok. ign. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PREFACE 7 PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS 12 II. THE FAMILY PTEROSTYLIS (GREENHOODS) 21 in. FERTILIZATION OF THE GREENHOODS .. 28 IV. FOUR SMALL FAMILIES j v 31 a. ' • EPIPHYTES AND OTHER THINGS VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS. COLLECTING AND PRESERVING 39 SPECIMENS 41 VII. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 53 VIII. GLOSSARY .. .. IX. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ORCHIDS INDIGENOUS TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA 55 60 INDEX ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATES. Frontispiece. 1 Thelymitra grandiflora (coloured) Facing page 42 2 Caladenia dilatata (coloured) PAGE. 40 3 Robert Brown 48 4 Ralph Tate 51 5 Robert Desmond Fitzgerald FIGURES. 1 Caladenia Cairnsiana 8 2 Pterostylis reflexa 9 3 Thelymitra pauciflora 10 4 Prasophyllum nigricans 5 Eriochilus autumnalis 11 12 6 Column and tongue of a Greenhood 13 7 Pterostylis vittata 13 8 Pterostylis nana 14 9 Pterostylis longifolia 15 10 Pterostylis nutans 16 11 Pterostylis mutica 17 12 Pterostylis curta 18 13 Pterostylis cucullata 19 14 Acianthus exsertus 20 15 Cyrtostylis reniformis 21 16 Corysanthes pruinosa (side view) .. 21 17 Corysanthes pruinosa (front view) 22 18 Crvptostylis longifolia 23 19 Dipodium punctatum 24 20 Orthoceras strictum 24 21 Calochilus Robertsoni 25 22 Caleana major 26 23 Spiranthes Australis 27 24 Microtis orbicularis 28 .25 Caladenia deformis 29 26 Diuris palachila 30 27 Lyperanthus nigricans 31 28 Glossodia major 32 29 Thelymitra antennifera 33 30 Leptoceras fimbriata 31 Caladenia Patersoni 34 32 Thelymitra Macmillani 35 33 Thelymitra epipactoides 36 34 Thelymitra venosa 37 35 Prasophyllum A list rale 38 THELYMITRA GRAND1FL0RA One of our tallest and most beautiful Orchids. About half natural size. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. THIS little book first appeared in the pages of The Children's Hour (a South Australian publication) in the form ot three illustrated articles, written for that magazine about two years ago. These articles were afterwards issued in booklet form for private distribution among teachers and others interested in this particular branch of Nature Study. The favourable recep- tion accorded this small effort has led to a request from the Education Department for a new edition. In this an attempt has been made to retain the simplicity of style which characterized the first issue-a feature which rendered it suitable for the ordinary school child or other person not possessed of any botanical knowledge. At the same time its scope has been extended by the addition of a Glossary of Botanical Terms and a Bibliography of our Orchidaceous Plants, which will enable the more advanced student to pursue the study of this extremely fascinating Order. , . The family Pterostylis .(" Greenhoods") has been selected as the type, and the various members of this have been treated with some slight regard to detail. In other respects no attempt at systemization has been made, and the author has relied almost entirely upon the pictures to tell their own story. The illustrations have been very considerably increased in number, and two of them now appear in colours. In cases where the illustrations in the first edition were considered unsatisfactory they have been replaced by fresh ones, lhese illustrations (with exception of the three portraits) are all original, and are the result of much cheerful labour, travel, time, and expense. The blocks were prepared either from photographs of the actual plants or from very beautiful paint- ings executed by Miss Rosa Fiveash from the fresh plants under the author's supervision. Another new feature in this edition is the introduction of biographical sketches and portraits of three men eminently identified with botanical research work in this and other States, viz., the most famous of all botanists, Robert Brown ; the late Professor Ralph Tate; and the late R. D. Fitzgerald, author of a monumental work on Australian Orchids. The portrait of Brown will, it is believed, be new to the great majority of Commonwealth readers. Finally, the shape of the book has been altered so that it may be conveniently carried in the pocket. It is most earnestly hoped that the attempt on the part of the author to popularize the study of our Native Orchids will not lead to the destruction of these interesting plants, but rather to their protection and preservation He has been greatly impressed by the ruthless manner in which the more showy forms are gathered by children and others in our National Park and elsewhere. Unless this wanton destruction is checked, ultimate extermination of our most beautiful species must result. He believes that a more intimate knowledge of the habits of these plants will engender a friendly interest in their welfare which will do much to safeguard them from the vandal. It is urged that all readers of this little book should use their utmost endeavour to protect our Orchids by instruc- ting others with less knowledge than themselves never to collect a single specimen not required for study, and to regard the tuber as sacred. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY or SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ORCHIDS. I. PRELIMINARY CON- able with certainty to refer to this SIDERATIONS. order, plants which he has never seen before. 1 have amongst my collectors little children of eight, AM constantly asked, FIG. 1. " What is an orchid ? How am I to know an orchid when I see one ? " This is a question to which I do not find a ready answer to give to those who have never studied botany. Frequently I get over the difficulty by using as illustrations of this family of plants our native " spider orchids " or " greenhoods " —types which are generally well known to most country school children. After the child has seen a few specimens of such flowers he will begin to notice that there is a peculiar " something " about them which marks them off from the many other wild flowers, and places them in a class by themselves. In a very short time he will be able to place in this class a number of plants with which he has hitherto not been very familiar, and eventu- CALADENIA CAIRNSIANA. ally many which are new to him. (Flower natural size.) In other words he has acquired the A Spider Orchid. Bloomx September " orchid eye," so that he will be and October. who, with no further instruction known fevers, and a most desirable than I have indicated, can tell a new and interesting ailment for all chil- orchid almost without a failure. dren to have. Fio. 2. Now, it ought surely to be possible to describe in words this strange " something," which leads to the detection of this flower. Let us try. If you look into the centre of almost any flower you will see rods (sometimes long, sometimes ex- ceedingly short), with little yellow knobs on the end of them. These are known as the " stamens," the little knobs themselves are called " anthers." Besides the stamens you will find in the heart of a flower one or more other rods without yellow knobs, and these are called the " style," their tips being known as the " stigma." The stamens and the. styles are concerned in the re- production of the plant. These two parts are distinct and separate from each other in all flowers except the family of orchids. But in the orchid a strange thing has happened, —the stamens and the style have become united so as to form what is called the " column," and this alone is sufficient to give a peculiar appearance to the flower. The column may assume all sorts of peculiar and fantastic shapes, PTEROSTYLIS UEFJ.EXA. but is most commonly rod-shaped (Natural size.) with the anther fastened to the top A " Greenhood." Blooms in May and of it, and the stigma indicated by a June. glistening spot on the front of it. The " orchid eye" is quickly When the flower becomes fertilized followed by the " orchid fever," the little yellow grains (" pollen "} which is the least painful of all contained in the anthers escape, and either fall on to the sticky sur- Outside the petals, springing face of the stigma or are conveyed from positions intermediate be- there by insects. tween them, are still three other divisions of the flower. These are Another very marked feature called the " sepals." which will help you to pick out all but one family (the Thelymttras) of Fio. 3. our orchids is the presence of a tongue or " labellum." * This tongue is often very beautiful, as in the spider orchids ; sometimes it is sensitive and will fly up suddenly when touched, as in some of the " greenhoods." Often its shape is most remarkable. To briefly repeat what you have just read—every orchid must have a column, and the next most im- portant feature present in nearly all the orchids of our State is the labellum. If you can recognize these two parts you will have gained the " orchid eye." Immediately outside of and surrounding the column, you may count, three leaf-like divisions of the flower, usually coloured, and known as the " petals." In all orchids (with the exception of the " Thehjmitras ") one of these petals TH KLVMITRA t'AUC'XFLORA. has become so much altered in (Spike of flowers natural size.) shape as to deserve a special name, The flowers of this orchid expand only the " tongue " or " labellum," to in very hot weather. Blooms in October. which I have just, drawn your atten- Flowers white or blue. tion. Most of our orchids are The chief terms, therefore, with therefore described as possessing which you must become familiar only two petals and a tongue.