Winter has waned and spring is back, bringing colour and vibrancy to bushland areas all around. After average rainfall in May, June and July (we fell short by about 20mm in August), the bush is looking much better than it has in a long time, and we’re set for a very good season in terms of blossom. I captured these glorious flowers while collecting herbarium specimens south of Capel, last week. Don’t worry – we didn’t collect any of the orchids! We took photos only of those beauties.
Early spring is a good time to go hunting for orchids – you want to look when the soil is starting to warm but while it’s still moist from the winter rains. We were a bit early for some of them – we saw the leaves and buds of several different species – but we did catch a few. The sun orchids (Thelymitras) should start coming out in a couple of weeks. They’re some of my favourite orchids – they seem to give off such a bright, happy feeling. In the meantime, I was more than contented with these ones…
Caladenia latiflora, brick red. See the same species in a more pink form below.
Caladenia latiflora, pink form
The common donkey orchid, Caladenia flava
The delicate and beautiful Chamaescilla corymbosa
The common White Spider orchid (Caladenia longicauda), profile view
One of the buttercup or guinea flower species, Hibbertia amplexicaulis
The intricate flower stalk of Desmocladus fascicularis, a species from the Restionaceae family
Ah, the beauty of the western Australian flora in spring… we really do have such unique wildflowers, and every day, I think to myself that I have one of the best jobs on the planet!
Well, that’s a wrap. I’ll be writing more very soon as there’s a lot going on at Ecoedge just now. Until then…
