Spiranthes australis ( R.Br. ) Lindl. 1824

Photo courtesy of Cathy Powers and her AUSTRALIAN TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS OTHER FLORA & FAUNA BANJORAH Website

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Common Name The Australian Spiranthes - Austral Ladies Tresses Orchid - The Pink Spiral Orchid

Flower Size 1/5" [.5 cm]

Found in Java?, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia occuring in moist to wet soils in swamps, marshes, near streams and in sub-alpine grasslands at elevations of 20 to 450 meters as a small to medium sized sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with 3 to 5, obliquely erect, narrowly lanceolate, dark green, somewhat shiny leaves held in a basal rosette that blooms in the spring and summer on an erect, 10 to 18" [20 to 45 cm] long, 10 to 60 flowered inflorescence with spirally arranged, fragrant flowers.

Many references cite this species as a synonym of S sinensis but I have left them separate for now.

Synonyms Gyrostachys australis (R. Br.) Blume 1858;; Monustes australis (R. Br.) Raf. 1836; *Neottia australis R Br. 1810

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1857; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 drawing fide; Studies in the Family Orchidaceae Vol 1 Ames 1905; Die Orchideen Von Java J.J.Sm. 1905; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906 as S autumnalis; Die Orchideen Von Java Figuren Atlas J.J.Smith 1908 drawing fide; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Australian Orchid Review Vol 65 No 4 2000 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 71 No 8 2002 photo fide; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 photo fide

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