Category Archives: Plants

Tongue Orchid

Plants, ,

Dendrobium linguiforme

“A remarkably hardy little rock-orchid, common on exposed sandstone cliffs and also in moist mossy gullies” – NPOS p.262

Tom has not been sleeping well the last few weeks, late to bed and early to rise. We went down to the river together for an early walk which gave me the chance to finally take a picture of this tongue orchid. They are meant to be a common plant but I can’t recall seeing another one in the area. This particular one is growing on a sandstone boulder in a gully near a small creek. It really must be a hardy plant to be able to survive clinging to bare rock.

In dry times the furrows in the thick leaves deepen and they turn a purple colour. When the rain comes the leaves puff up and turn green. We’ve had a lot of rain in the last month hence the green colour of the leaves in the photo.

Tongue Orchid growing on sandstone
Tongue Orchid growing on sandstone
Tongue Orchid leaf detail
Tongue Orchid leaf detail

 

 Resources and references

Cycad Time Lapse

Plants, , ,

Last year the big cycad in the front yard sprouted a bowling ball sized sphere from it’s center. It was bizarre looking, almost as if it was giving birth! The sphere eventually spread out and turned into a new generation of coralloid roots. It was quite amazing seeing it emerge so quickly, especially because apart from that there’s been no visible growth in over 2 years.

This year I noticed the spear heads of a new generation of leaves sprouting from the center and decided to try and take a photo every day. Amazing to see it grow so fast. I wonder where all the matter to build those huge leaves was coming from so quickly, could it be taken from the soil and air on the fly or has the plant been building up some sort of reservoir over 2 years that can quickly be converted into rapid new growth?

Cycad Time Lapse
Time lapse of a cycad sprouting a new generation of leaves taken over 35 days

 

Cycad coralloid roots
Cycad with a new generation of coralloid roots sprouting from the center
Cycad sprouting new leaves
Close up of the new leaves

Trigger Plant

Plants, , , ,

Stylidium productum

“A tufted herb with grass like leaves, found in moist forest situations.” – NPOS p.219

The trigger plant has developed the fascinating ability for movement fast enough to outdo animal reflexes. The trigger plant’s pollen producing anthers are located at the end of a stalk emanating from the center of the flower. The stalk is cocked back behind the flower like the hammer of a gun. When an insect lands it triggers the hammer which crashes onto the insect, showering it with pollen. The insect then flies away to fertilize the next trigger flower it lands upon. The flower resets itself in 20 minutes, ready for it’s next customer.

There are several species of trigger plant found in the Sydney area, I’m reasonably confident this is the Stylidium productum. It was found on a moist hill side atop Hawksburry sandstone. Stylidium productum is a small herb like plant consisting of a single stem, leaves are grass like and grow directly off the stem. Flowers grow at the end of a stalk that comes out of the top of the plant. We’ve got a few of these in the yard but they usually get munched by rabbits or wallabies before they get a chance to flower.

Trigger Plant
Leaves of the trigger plant. The long flower tipped stalk grows out from the top of the plant.
Trigger Plant flowers
The purple flowers of the Trigger Plant. Each flower has a hammer cocked and waiting to be triggered by the next insect that lands on it.
Trigger Plant Flower
Trigger Plant Flower locked and loaded. The arrow traces the arc of the hammer.

Crucifix Orchid

Plants, , , , ,

Epidendrum ibaguense

The crucifix Orchid is popular among the houses in our area. It must have been fashionable at some time in past, or possibly have spread itself from a single stating point. It’s a hardy plant that has taken over large areas of the garden without any special care. It grows as dense stands to about 1.5m high. Individual plants consist of a thin bamboo like central stem with thick oval shaped leaves sprouting directly off it in an alternating pattern.

I just read that the leaves of the purple variety are edible and taste like watermelon. Well, I just tried a leaf from one of the orange ones and they taste like watermelon too! More like artificial watermelon flavour, kind of like watermelon flavoured Nerds.

The flowers are the most striking part of the plant, the varieties in our garden bloom in clusters of vivid red or orange flowers. Each individual flower has a cross shape, hence the name.

As well as seeding, the plant spreads by growing small daughter plants complete with roots from off it’s central stem. The daughter then breaks off, takes root and grows into a new plant.

I’ve removed a lot of crucifix orchid from the garden already, I’d like to get rid of most of it, thankfully the roots are shallow making it easy to pull out.

Crucifix Orchid
Orange Crucifix Orchid
Crucifix Orchids
Crucifix Orchids growing in a crack in a rock. The Wallabies snack on them.

More Info:

The Queensland Gardening Pages

 

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