Introduction

In June 2001, Reg Allison, the President and Graham Bowden, the Secretary of the Species Orchid Society of Western Australia, took a walk through a patch of bushland at the end of the Mitchell Freeway in the northern Perth suburb of Joondalup. They were amazed at the number and diversity of the native terrestrial orchids that they found there. Since that time, we have been able to get a much better idea of the range of orchids in this area, which include:

To the best of our knowledge, none of these orchids are on the endangered list, in the sense that there are others of the same species growing in other locations, but 'these' orchids were all growing in an area that is earmarked for the extension of the Mitchell Freeway at some unspecified date in the future, and are thereby not only endangered, but have had a death sentence passed on them.

The two men were so impressed by these orchids that they decided to try to get permission for the Species Orchid Society of WA to remove some of them in an effort to conserve them for the future.

Reg approached the Dept. of Conservation & Land Management (C.A.L.M.), and was told to get written permission from the owner. He phoned The Dept. of Main Roads and after being passed from bureaucrat to bureaucrat, eventually found the right person and written permission was in the mail. This he took back to C.A.L.M and was given a permit, at a cost of $10, for Sp. Club members to remove orchids for one year. This has to be renewed each year. There are a number of conditions included, as you would expect, but nothing that we can't live with. The permit is restricted to members of the Species Orchid Soc. of WA, which is a great incentive for non-members to join
the club. We are allowed to remove only native terrestrial orchids (there are no native epiphytes in this part of WA anyway) and only for the purposes of growing them in our gardens. (Or shade house, or whatever) They cannot be taken for sale or profit, which is a quite reasonable restriction.

Reg says that his main problem was finding the right person to talk to in both Depts. So many of the minions just didn't want to know, but Reg puts it down to persistence. (Reg is ex S.A.S. and does not easily take 'no' for an answer) When all the BS was put to one side, getting permission was relatively easy to do considering all the negative stories one hears about bureaucratic ambivalence.

I have heard via the grapevine, that there are/is some other local club/clubs that are wondering why they did not do this kind of rescue thing before the Species O/S of WA got into the act. Well, I have to say in all honesty that there was no impediment to them beating us to the punch, and further, there is still no impediment to any orchid organization anywhere, getting in on the act. There are plenty of other areas, and not just in our neck of the woods but all over the world, where orchids are under threat of destruction by the clodhoppers of dubious progress. (For those who have had a sheltered childhood, clodhoppers are extremely large boots.)

By the time he had his permit, it was too late in the season to find any orchids, so it was not until the following year that any progress was made, and a dig was organized, during the Autumn/Winter of 2002, which was attended by many of the members. Also during that year's flowering season, Reg and Graham marked a large number of orchids so they could be found in future.

During the following summer, an area extending from Hodges Drive north for about 200 metres, and along the north side of Hodges Drive in an east/west direction for about 300metres, was subjected to an extremely hot fire.

When Reg and Graham came to inspect the area in the autumn of this year, (March, April, May of 2003, Southern Autumn) they were pleasantly surprised at the large variety of orchids that were to be easily found in the burnt portion. More digs were quickly organized with Club members, as finding the orchids had become easy in the extreme, and a large number of orchids were removed to the safety of back yards and members bush plots, to bloom for many more years in safety.

I must say that the WA terrestrial orchids have reached a much higher profile in the awareness our members, since Ron Heberle joined the Society. Until that point, our members were predominantly growers of exotic orchid species, (fine though they are) with the native WA species only being grown by two or three members. Ron's long background in native terrestrial orchids and his ability to communicate this to others has been the catalyst for many of our members to become more active in WA native terrestrial cultivation. The number orchids rescued last year, that have flowered in back yards and found their way to our Club meetings, proves that so many of our members are having success with them.

It's a shame that familiarity tends to breed contempt, and this applies to all of us. Those orchids that are close, handy and seen as 'normal' in our own environment, are never quite so enticing as those from far afield that are seen as 'exotic'. We must learn to value what we have and make efforts in conservation, in the hope that others, in other parts of the world, will be moved to make similar efforts in their own localities.

This Map…shows the current extent of the Mitchell Freeway (green lines) as far as Hodges Drive (yellow line). The continuation to the north of Hodges Drive is the area of the rescue dig as far as the next yellow line at Currambine. Some 4 km in length and varying in width.

Looking north across Hodges drive. This will be the next part to be bulldozed. The sky will give you some idea of the weather that day.

Dig_Orchids
What is the extent or number of plants to be rescued? Next question: Where will plants be placed?

TonyinWestOz
We will rescue as many as possible. There are far more than we can handle so we will not be able to get them all. The permit states that they are for keeping in our backyards, [so that we cannot legally sell or otherwise pass them on to others. If we follow the wording of the permit, we are not even allowed to transplant them to other bush blocks. - tw]

Jeanne23from_oz
Isn't that silly when they could be transplanted into areas that are not going to be used and there must be plenty places to be had?

MarilyninOttawa
Did you find different species or a different mix of species in the burned area?

TonyinWestOz
Both. There was an incomplete list in the mailout

Dig_Orchids
Will natural pollinators be available in back yards?

TonyinWestOz
You Betcha. Lots of wasps and spiders, ants etc [Not to mention human intervention. - tw]

MarilyninOttawa
I was also wondering just where in the soil profile you find the tubers? Is it possible to lift blocks of soil and vegetation to translocate or must you individually remove every tuber?

TonyinWestOz
This will become clearer as we go.

Looking down hill from the north side of Hodges Drive. This area had a hot burn at the height of summer, removing most of the understory and allowing the orchids to grow prolifically. Australian terrestrials hide from the hot, dry summers underground, where their tubers are protected from fire too. The buildings to the right are part of a light industrial area.

Looking back south to Hodges Drive. You can see some of the new growth on the damaged trees.

Some of our members getting right into it, wearing their best rain gear and carrying their tools of trade. Note the blackened tree on the left, showing how intense the fire was.

This is Maxine digging out a spider orchid (Caladenia sp.) These are some of the most difficult orchids to get, as the roots go down six inches to a foot, and then go off at right angles. The root, which breaks easily, must be followed to get to the tubers. Once broken the tubers are almost impossible to find. [ We stand a good chance of retrieving the tubers after the plant has gone dormant, by sieving the soil. - tw] The white flower can just be seen to the right of the hole.

This shows the hole, partly dug with the flowers, stem and roots.

N_Calif_Kathy
Very sandy soil. My soil is similar! (I'd love to grow some of these in my yard)

TonyinWestOz
Kathy, Perth sits on a sandy coastal plain. Its just one big sand dune. You can send seeds no problem.

You can see that the root has very uneven width, which makes it so easy to break as the hole is dug.

Jeanne23from_oz
Will the plant not regenerate again once broken roots are there?

TonyinWestOz
It's the tubers that are important. If they remain in the ground, they will regrow. When digging them up, it is the tubers that you must get. The top portion of the plant will not regrow without the tuber.

A group of rescued tubers. These are all Caladenia arenacola which were dug up at a later date than the others you see here, and were found by using a sieve.

MarilyninOttawa
Your volunteers are to be congratulated. That is a lot of work!

TonyinWestOz
Now for some pretty pix

A group of Caladenia sp. Note the hairy leaves, which is a help in finding them when not in flower.

Caladenia arenacola. (Red Spider Orchid)

Close up of above showing detail of the lip.

Not the world's finest pic, but this may give you some idea of the size of these orchids.

Jeanne23from_oz
Nice bit of photography Tony

TonyinWestOz
Thank you. I dropped that camera and had to get another one. The new one is just as good though. [ The camera that I used was a Nikon Coolpix 950. My new/second hand camera is a Sony DSC-F505V. Both cameras are great for macro work with orchids and that was my reasoning in choosing them. tw]

Caladenia arenacola tuber laid out on a table. (Pic by Graham Bowden).

Carole
That pic really demonstrates the work involved to retrieve it!

Jeanne23from_oz
Could you split that and get new growth from every tuber?

TonyinWestOz
I suppose you could but we have not tried it. Should work though. [ But to give the orchid it's best chance of survival, you would be better to leave the root and tubers together in one piece. A bit like splitting epiphytic orchids and keeping at least three pseudobulbs together. If you were to split them in to single p/b, it would take much longer for each to reach flowering size. I suspect that it would be the same for terrestrials too. tw ]

TonyinWestOz
Another tuber showing the lengths people will go, to dig them out. The plant stem is on the lower right and the root starts where it crosses the ruler.

Caladenia arenacola. Well deserves it's common name of Red Spider Orchid.

Caladenia arenacola. Close up and side on view of the last pic.

Caladenia flava. This one has quite long lateral sepals

Cyanicula gemmata in situ. Note how clear the ground is. A hot summer burn doesn't leave a lot behind it. These small, blue flowers were not growing in masses, but were spread out all over the burned area in ones and twos.

Cyanicula gemmata with one open flower and a bud about to open. They have a short stem, which rises from a small hairy leaf.

N_Calif_Kathy
Tony, will these grow in California?

Jeanne23from_oz
How big were the Cyanicula gemmata, the purple orchids Tony?

TonyinWestOz
Should do, Kathy. So long as you give no water in the summer. Jeanne, the flowers are about 1 inch across. [ But they can be quite variable size wise. - tw]

art,simpsonville_sc
How long from seed to flowers Tony?

TonyinWestOz
We don't know the answer to that one Art. Good question. [ The book 'Orchids of South-West Australia' by Noel Hoffman & Andrew Brown, suggest that it can take up to 3 or more years depending on growing conditions. - tw]

Cyanicula gemmata flowers. This one needs no comment from me.

Cyanicula gemmata showing flowers, leaf, root and tuber. These were much easier to dig up as the root and tuber went straight down, and only about 6 or 7 inches deep.

Zeynep
Tony, those are gorgeous plants, I am enjoying all the nice flower pictures you are showing.

Jeanne23from_oz
It looks like they have to build up a few tubers before they flower.

TonyinWestOz

Diuris magnifica in situ. This gives you some idea of just how clear the area is. No old understory at all. The yellow spots that you can see are Diuris magnifica. Never fear, there are more pix of this to come.

A closer view. You can begin to see why these are called Donkey Orchids.

Diuris have very short roots, which makes them very easy to dig out. The roots tend to spread like octopus tentacles just below the ground, and have the ability to grow from one small section of root. Their hairless, grass-like leaves make them very difficult to find then they are not in flower.

The flowers, each an inch, to inch and a half tall, contain some of the most exquisite colours. They pollinate very easily. The flower on the left seems to have been pollinated judging by the swelling ovary.

MarilyninOttawa
I have found Diuris very easy to raise from seed.

Zeynep
Tony, what striking colors on these flower pictures!

TonyinWestOz

These small, oval, ground hugging leaves are Pyrochis nigricans. Formally known as Burnettia, and before that, as Lyperanthus. (God bless the taxonomists) Pyrochis flower profusely after a fire and we had to be very careful not to stand on them. Their root and tuber system only goes down below ground for some 5 or 6 inches and were quite easy to remove.

This is a closer view of two P. nigricans flowers (Red Beaks) seen from above.

And yet a close pic of Pyrochis nigricans seen from above. As they require a fire to get them to flower, growing them in cultivation poses some unusual problems. Some folk put pine needles on the top of the pots and set fire to them during the summer. This can be a health hazard as I'm sure you would understand.

MarilyninOttawa
And hence the name?

TonyinWestOz
More than likely.

Pyrochis nigricans flower. This one was taken at one of our Club meetings.

Close up of previous pic. This one speaks for itself.

This is Elythranthera brunonis, commonly known as Purple Enamel Orchids for obvious reasons. Their flowers have a thick, waxy texture and look like porcelain. This actually shows four plants all growing together.

MarilyninOttawa
Is this a species whose flowers open only in full sun?

TonyinWestOz
No. You are thinking of Thelymitra. But it is not the sun, but warmth that opens them

A closer view of the Elythranthera brunonis flower. There are two Sp. in this genera, the other being E. marginata, know as the Pink Enamel Orchid which has a slightly larger flower and is pink, of course.

Jeanne23from_oz
It would be a pity to lose that one to the bulldozers and highways wouldn't it?

N_Calif_Kathy
Very true!! (Note to self, stop slobbering over the orchids and remember that we are supposed to be *conserving* them, LOL!)

TonyinWestOz

This pic shows Lee digging and it gives a good view of the type of country. The plants that look like grass trees are Xanthorrhoea, (pronounced zan thor ea) and as it is spring, wildflowers of all kinds are coming into their own. A yellow Diuris can be seen in the bottom left corner.

Happy Camper. I couldn't resist this pic which has Lee sitting on a milk crate to make the 'getting down and dirty' a bit easier on the knees.

Orchid Hunters in full flight! Couldn't resist this one either. This Sp of orchid hunter is distinguished by their 'heads down' attitude and their habit of frequently standing on one foot!

John_in_Arcadia_CA
I am glad that no one had a camera around me when I am looking at orchids!! LOL

TonyinWestOz

Rescued Orchids. Left, Diuris magnifica, the blue ones are Cyanicula gemmata and the yellow are Caladenia flava. The oval leaf of a Pyrochis nigricans can be seen bottom right.

MarilyninOttawa
Are there any 'hazards' like spiders, snakes, scorpions, etc to worry about?

TonyinWestOz
Only if they bite you. :-) [ The Australian bush does have it's share of these crawly creatures, but their danger tends to be exaggerated in direct proportion to the distance you happen to be from the bush. Or in other words, if you worry about this kind of thing, you would never go anywhere. - tw]

Rescued Orchids. In my back yard. Diuris magnifica & Cyanicula gemmata.

N_Calif_Kathy
I wouldn't have a clue as to how to proceed to rescue orchids in my locality. Would you start at the State level or the County level (or whatever you'd call them in Australia). I suppose I'd ask the local chapter of the Native Plant club where I'd begin, but even then I wouldn't know where to start. Is Reg still there? Does he care to say more about how he got the permits to allow the rescue?

TonyinWestOz
Reg says ...You need to have lots of patience in working through the system.

N_Calif_Kathy
In terms of ferreting out the proper person from whom to get the permit, or in time spent on the endeavor, or both?

TonyinWestOz
Both. It's not a local council problem. You have to go to the State dept of main roads, and Conservation and land management

TonyinWestOz

Pyrochis nigricans flowers.

Zeynep
Tony, are you planning to plant the rescued plants into the ground or keep them in the pots?

TonyinWestOz
Both. [ Some of our members own a few acres of bush, and that is legally, their back yard. Others will use pots. - tw]

Jeanne23from_oz
What time of the year do these orchids flower Tony?

N_Calif_Kathy
They don't look much worse for the wear. Or has time passed from the date of rescue to the date of the pic? (Had time to acclimate)

TonyinWestOz
They were not in flower when dug up but flowered later in my garden. These all tend to flower in the winter months…... [at this latitude, although there are a few that can last into the summer. - tw] These next pix show orchids that were rescued last year, have been grown and flowered by our members and benched at our meetings this year.

Diuris magnifica.

MarilyninOttawa
How long do individual plants live in the wild? Some of ours in Canada live decades while others bloom only once or twice in their lifetime. How long do you expect your species live in cultivation? Are you keeping records or something like that? It might be interesting to make a comparison.

TonyinWestOz
In the wild they tend to grow new tubers each year much as our epiphytes do, so they can effectively out live us. They should flower every year. [As far as I know, there has been no research done on their life span, but it has been noted that they sometimes tend to disappear from an area where they were previously numerous, which would tend to indicate that there is a tendency for them to die out after a while. -tw]

Caladenia arenicola.

Caladenia arenicola.

MarilyninOttawa
That is truly magnificent!

Cyanicula deformis.

These tend to flower earlier in the year.

Randy,_MI
Did the permit issuers dictate where plants were re-located to? Was it also a requirement to keep paperwork on the moved plants for a period of time after the move?

TonyinWestOz
Yes to both questions.....

Cyanicula deformis.

N_Calif_Kathy
How did you know these would take to pot culture? Some of our native terrestrials are so tied to the presence of their mycorrhizal fungi that transplanting them to your yard just dooms them to death.

TonyinWestOz
Part of the trick is to take a load of the soil from the habitat and grow them in that but it's not essential. [Some of our terrestrials will keep on flowering every year without the presence of mycorrhizal fungi. Dr. Heinrich Beyrle in Germany has an excellent article on his web site on this subject. http://www.myorchids.de/main1.htm - tw ]

Cyanicula deformis. Close up. I'm rather pleased with the way this one came out showing all its hairy glory.

Jeanne23from_oz
When the `authorities' first started worrying about the native plants we were issued with a license number and that had to stay with the plant even if it was moved over the front of your premises but it all seems to have gone by the board now. It would take to many inspectors to try to keep track of any native plant that was sold.

Randy,_MI
Our society received a permit (in Michigan) to rescue native orchids which could only be re-located in a native environment, not kept by rescuers for pot culture and definitely not to end up with a commercial grower. I have talked to others here in the states who were told by their state depts. that they had to re-locate to a nursery and not to the wild (Minnesota).....

TonyinWestOz
These are not supposed to be sold commercially. [It is natural that each state or local authority would have different regulations for orchid conservation. Jeanne is in Queensland and their approach is quite different to Western Australia's. Randy is in a different country. I don't believe these differing regulations should stop anyone from getting involved with orchid conservation. After all, the orchids don't care one way or another so long as they continue to grow. -tw]

N_Calif_Kathy
Really? Minn says to a nursery! Weird. You'd think that would encourage digging for sale....

Randy,_MI
In this case, the man applying for the permit had to deal with the Feds as well as Road Dept. Their joint opinion was the only way to insure the plants stood a chance was to put them in the hands of an expert who had the added incentive to keep the plants alive because he wanted to profit from them. Kind of makes sense.....

MarilyninOttawa
There are guidelines for introduction/re-introduction of species to either a previously occupied site or to a place where the species might be expected to grow but has not been recorded. Records are essential.

Randy,_MI
Sounds just like what was required with our permit. I'm not sure of the time limit, but I believe it was 2 years minimum. The people we got permit from had a major concern that we would be moving virused plants into a previously virus free environment.

TonyinWestOz
The last pic............. Our Glorious Leader! President Reg Allison getting down and dirty. Whatever we have accomplished here in saving our native orchids from the bulldozers, is down to Reg and his refusal to take 'no' for an answer.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my presentation and perhaps we can do another at a later date zeroing in on two or three individual genera and bringing to you the wonderful pix of Ron Heberle.

MarilyninOttawa
Very well done. Congratulations to the team for effort and persistence. Also to the photographer for the excellent images! Thank you!

Jade
I learned so much about Orchids I have never seen. One question. Do any of these have a scent?

TonyinWestOz
Some do some don't. Got to go. Bye