"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
I thought some of you might be interested in this although I did post
a bit about it elsewhere, so apologies to those who have already seen
it.
Within
days the flower opened and I was able to nail it as probably being a
dwarf form of Pterostylis pedunculata – a ‘maroon-hood’ found in
Victoria and New South Wales. The species proper grows to about 12”
tall when in full flower with leaves twice the size of those on my
plant, so I’m still not 100% certain of its exact identity.

By no stretch of the imagination is it a thing of beauty; with its
rather closed, upturned flower barely an inch long and a pair of
filamentous sepals, which when viewed from some angles remind me of
earwig pincers. However, its journey here and subsequent survival
until discovery have endeared me to this small orchid and believe me,
I’m by no means an admirer of small plants. A second flower has
since opened with 2 more on the way so it’s a plucky thing able to
develop remarkably quickly, which is stark contrast to most orchids.
I’ll grow it on in a pan and when there’s enough, a small piece will
be planted back onto the tree fern trunk where it first hitched a ride
several years ago and 10,000 miles away.

Dave,

Fascinating. Great observation, too, leading to a well-deserved reward.
Makes you wonder if these tree ferns might be a good source of native
mycorrhiza.

Would you allow me to offer your post for reprinting in the Australasian
Plant Society newsletter (no promises - I'm not the editor)? We have a
number of members who would find it not only of interest, but very
encouraging.

--

Jeff