The unusual arrangement of pink flowers spiralling up the stem is a feature of a summer-flowering orchid known sometimes as Austral ladies’ tresses, and sometimes as the pink spiral orchid.
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The latter name is more up-to-date and more descriptive, especially because it aptly describes the plant’s flowering stem.
Stems of this summer-flowering plant are about 25-30cm tall.
Each pink and white flower is tiny, but their tight spiral growth pattern and their bright colour make them quite distinctive, as well as attractive and appealling.
Add to this that the plant is uncommon in the Ballarat district and it becomes even more interesting and special.
Austral ladies’ tresses is a plant of damp, fairly open, often grassy, places.
The relatively few local records are mostly from spots that receive winter flooding.
Today’s photo was taken on Australia Day, on a mown firebreak, where the flowering stems had arisen after the grass was cut.
Although many exotic plants were present, many native species still exist as well. The site would have been boggy in winter and spring.
Many close-up photos of many plants were taken.
But there was no trace of a claimed “sweet heavy perfume” was noticed, although this fact was not known until afterwards.
St George’s Lake at Creswick had a population of these pink spiral orchids for many years.
However, two visits this year failed to locate them. Small numbers probably remain somewhere there.
The orchid is a perennial one, so it is unlikely to die out unless badly disturbed or too dry. The fact that it is known to often occur at its best on mown firebreaks seems to indicate it may not like growing in long grass.
To botanists, this plant is known as Spiranthes australis. It is declining in numbers in Victoria, due to drainage, grazing and other threats. Our few local populations should therefore be treasured.
DUCKS RETURN
After an absence of five months, freckled ducks have returned to their favourite spot at Lake Wendouree.
First a pair, and now three of these uncommon ducks have been sighted in the last couple of weeks.
They are not easy to observe, because they rest quietly on low branches with a few other ducks during the day, before moving off in the evening to feed.
After their departure last year, we wondered if they would return. With 50 or more of them at times in recent years, they became a special feature for birdwatchers. We wait to see if their numbers will gradually build up to former levels.
