Sept,,"i Pescott and French, A Year Among the Orchids. 77 



1Q15 j a / / 



tea-tree, a colony of this orchid, which was abundantly present 

 in 1914, was almost smothered in 1915 by the luxuriant growth 

 of the English Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, and the Sorrel, 

 Ritmex acetosella, the seeds of these introduced weeds having 

 been spread by the agency of stork manure. 



In this locality this season a small albino or variegated form 

 of Pterostylis nutans was found. The plant had three leaves, 

 and, under cultivation, has since developed a fourth. This 

 interesting break of albinism is not common among the orchids. 



In the heath lands last year it was quite impossible to collect 

 a single flowering specimen of Lyperanthus nigricans. 

 Frankston, Sandringham, Black Rock. Beaumaris, Cheltenham. 

 and Oakleigh were all searched over, hut they refused to yield 

 up even one flower. Thousands of plants were found dead 

 everywhere, and this quite early in Septemher. This was 

 probably owing to the dryness of the winter and the heat of 

 early spring. The check to the flowering of the plant, and the 

 death of the foliage, did not interfere with the life of the tubers. 

 Many of these were dug up. and they appeared quite normal, 

 though rather small. This year the foliage is as plentiful and 

 as vigorous as ever. 



Two other species which are usually plentiful were not found 

 by us in the metropolitan area last season, although diligent 

 search was made in their usual localities. These were Gastrodia 

 sesamoides and Orthoceras strictum. The same localities will 

 be searched again this season to see if they have survived the 

 drought. The former, however, was found at Yering Gorge 

 by Dr. ('. S. Sutton in November, and by Mr. C. French, jun., 

 at Korumburra during the first week in December. In the 

 latter case the tubers were exceedingly large. It is strange 

 that this orchid should have been so scarce last year, for its 

 congener, Dipodium punctatum, was plentiful in all of its usual 

 haunts at Healesville, Ringwood, Croydon. Bayswater, Tyabb, 

 &c. One plant was noticed at Ringwood 37 inches in height, 

 with fifty-three individual flowers on the spike: a plant was 

 also collected at Black Rock as late as 17th March, and this 

 only had one flower expanded. Thirty years ago Dipodium 

 punctatum was very common in the river paddocks at Richmond 

 and Burnley, but here it has long been extinct. These two 

 hot-season orchids are usually credited with being parasitic 

 upon gum-tree and other roots. At Ringwood this season 

 one plant was carefully dug from the soil, and no roots or tree 

 Stumps were in close proximity to the tuberous roots, h has 

 recently been ascertained that Gastrodia elata, a Japanese 

 species, only flowers when attacked by the root-rot fungus. 

 Armillaria mellea, which lives in symbiotic relationship on the 

 orchid tubers. II this be so. it mav be found that the same 



