WA Orchids

I love beard orchids! Calochilus sp. are so bizarre and beautiful. #orchid #nativeflowers #botany #kean4sci #nature #Calochilus #beardorchids #tasmania #wildoz

Yes… hence the “for now at least” at the end of my original comment. But still relieved the immediate exploration plans have been shelved for now

Alcoa shelves plans to explore Perth Hills for mining expansion US mining giant Alcoa will withdraw part of its plans to expand its mining operations in the world's only jarrah forests, following community concerns around water security and environmental impacts.

🌳🌿💚 Monday morning good news story!

Following strong opposition from local councils & residents, Alcoa has shelved its plans to explore the Perth Hills #jarrah #forests for its #bauxite mining expansion... for now at least.

#wildoz #conservation #ozflora #trees
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

Rare orchids and wattles thrive in old cemeteries Australian cemeteries have become a safe haven for flora and fauna affected by urban expansion, including a rare orchid unique to a small patch of the NSW Mid North Coast.

The critically endangered Pale Yellow Doubletail orchid (Diuris flavescens) thrives in a NSW cemetery

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #conservation #nature

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

As I understand it, they were introduced to WA purposefully… including by a former Director of Perth Zoo prior to a royal visit in the early 1900s if Wikipedia is accurate

Picture of a well worn possum box mounted on a tree trunk with a hole in the side of the roof and the face of a kookaburra emerging from the entrance

Picture of a kookaburra sitting in a gum tree

Dacelo novaeguineae - Laughing Kookaburra

Although introduced to WA, it’s hard not to like these lovely #birds with their raucous laughing call. This pair have nested in our garden for at least 6 years now and it looks like their nest box needs some roof repairs!
#auswildlife #wildoz #nature 🪶

A Blue Lady Orchid (Thelymitra crinita) I spotted near my farm :)

Beautiful colour form!

Brilliant! That’s exactly the sort of thing we need. Thank you 🙏

Bobtails are always welcome visitors in our garden… and we’re so lucky to have a wildlife rescue centre close by that can care for sick or injured native critters!

Picture of a brown and cream lizard curled up on someone’s hands. The lizard has a stocky appearance with a triangular head

The weather is definitely heating up in Perth ☀️

Which means wildlife starting to look for water. Had to rescue this lovely Bobtail lizard from the backyard pool today. He’s currently at a wildlife rescue centre for a checkup and will hopefully be back home soon🤞

#ausreptiles #wildoz #reptiles

Definitely real, and definitely a very vivid colour 💙 The photo was taken in 2024

There’s some real teenage attitude vibes coming from this guy!!

Close up of a single pink Triggerplant flower showing four petals and the sensitive column coming from the throat of the flower. The end of the column is visible showing a wider end with brush like tips

Stylidium tenue - Little Fountain Triggerplant

Look closely at a triggerplant and you’ll spot the flower’s sensitive column, carrying both the anther & stigma at the end. The anther develops first, the stigma develops after the anther shrivels 🌿🌱

#Stylidium #ozflora #wildoz #nature #pollination

A cluster of small yellowy orange flowers each with four petals and a deeper orange ring around the centre of the flower. The flowers have a column that comes from the centre and curves around the back of the petals, this is the ‘trigger’

A closer view of small yellowy orange flowers each with four petals and a deeper orange ring around the centre of the flower. The flowers have a column that comes from the centre and curves around the back of the petals, this is the ‘trigger’

Stylidium thesioides - Delicate Triggerplant

Another of the Triggerplants endemic to Western Australia, the Delicate Triggerplant flowers in late spring. This one was seen in a winter wetland area.

#stylidium #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

Stylidium are so cool. A slowmo video I took during fieldwork showing the flower being triggered

A cluster of pink flowers, each with four pink petals and a yellow centre. The triggerplant’s column can be seen emerging from the centre of the flower

A dense cluster of pink flowers, each with four pink petals and a yellow centre

It feels like it’s been a bumper year for Triggerplants (Stylidium sp.) this year, so a few #Stylidium posts seems appropriate.

First up is Stylidium recurvum, which has put on an amazing display in the Perth Hills this year!
#ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #nature

Two unusually shaped orchid flowers standing next to each other. They have a red labellum shaped somewhat like an insect

Drakaea thynniphila - Narrow-lipped Hammer Orchid

This orchid likes sandy open clearings in woodlands in the southwest of Western Australia and is pollinated by the male of a specific species of Thynnid Flower wasp
#orchids #ozora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

Two orchid stand with a number of blue flowers growing against a reddish orange backdrop of the Australian bush

Thelymitra crinita - Blue Lady orchid

I’ve posted this picture before, but I’m posting it again because I love the contrast between the orchid’s blue flowers and reddish orange of the Aussie bush it’s growing in 💙🧡

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #nature #photography

Picture of an orchid stem with numerous blue flowers along its length.

Thelymitra macrophylla - Scented Sun Orchid

I haven't seen too many Scented Sun Orchids this year. In good years you can find them with numerous bluish purple, fragrant flowers. Endemic to the southwest of Western Australia
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

An orchid with the three bright yellow flowers with brownish purple markings

Diuris laxiflora - the Bee Orchid

A relatively small orchid, the Bee orchid is endemic to Western Australia and flowers between September and early November.

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #nature #bloomscrolling

A spider that is generally white with brown patterns on its abdomen hangs upside down underneath a small pink flower

Any #pollinator visiting this Triggerplant will have far more to worry about than just being unexpectedly daubed with the plant’s pollen 🕷️

This Milky Flower Spider (Zygometis xanthogaster) is hoping for a tasty morsel

#ausinverts #ozflora #wildoz #spider #arachnid #inaturalist #nature

Picture of three reddish green orchid flowers that resemble the shape of a duck

Paracaleana nigrita - Flying Duck Orchid

One of the more common of the Duck Orchids to be found in Western Australia. These curious looking orchid flowers can be seen between August & October
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

An orchid flower that is a mix of red, yellow, and pale green. The orchid has a labellum with long, spreading fringes

Caladenia plicata - the Crab-lipped Spider orchid

Found in the forests of southwest Western Australia, this orchid has a very distinctive labellum with long fringing at the sides
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #natuveplants #inaturalist #nature

Side view of an orchid that is mainly green with some red. The orchid holds its lateral (bottom) sepals in an upswept nnner

Caladenia attingens - the Forest Mantis orchid

Relatively common in the southwest of Western Australia, this orchid is quite distinctive with its broad labellum and upswept lateral sepals
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #nature

This tiny native mouse is legally considered both dead and alive Animals and plants aren't automatically taken off most national and state extinct species list in Australia if they are rediscovered, leaving them without protection as threatened species.

Schrödinger's mouse?? 🐭🌿🌱

Currently there are four Australian species, plants & animals, listed as nationally extinct despite them all being recently rediscovered… which means these species get no protection under our environmental laws
#auswildlife #wildoz #nature

www.abc.net.au/news/science...

The greeny yellow Caladenia transitoria

The very tiny pink Caladenia pusilla

Hard to see easily as it is only half open red and white Burnettia cuneata which comes after fire.

Always cheerful mauve Glossodia major

Arthur Pieman Conservation Area was an orchid wonderland last weekend!

Picture showing an orchid flower from the side. The orchid has relatively short petals and sepals with a labellum that is quite large with long side fringes and compact calli in the centre

Caladenia discoidea - Dancing Spider Orchid

Flowering between August and early October, the botanical name of this orchid reflects its characteristic rounder, broader labellum - discoidea, from the Latin discoideus, meaning disc shaped
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist

Picture of an orchid flower that has petals and sepals that are mainly bright red in colour. The orchid's labellum is a contrasting white with red stripes and red calli in the middle

Caladenia footeana - the Crimson Spider Orchid

A small but brightly coloured orchid endemic to Western Australia, the Crimson Spider Orchid flowers between July and October
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist

Picture of an orchid with two blue flowers that are open and several buds that are still closed at the top of the stem. To the right of the flower a Hover fly can seen in flight in mid-air

There are Sun Orchids (Thelymitra sp.) still flowering in the Perth Hills and the Hover flies were loving them today 💙🪰

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #ausinverts #diptera #pollinators #nature