Seeking Out Australian Native Orchids #70 - Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP, NSW

Few people know about the waterfall on Lovers Jump Creek. I cross above the waterfall often. Time to make a change and go and look at the waterfall for the first time.

http://blogofadventure.blogspot.com.au/2009/02/lovers-jump-creek.html

Two ways to access - the easy way and the hard way. I am going down the hard way and walking out the easy way. Hard way is to scramble down the 30 to 40 metre (100 foot) high steep sides in the rain forest. Easy for a young man but this older man is doing a fair bit of it on his bottom. The waterfall is a surprise - it drops about 30 metres into a deep pool and is flanked by steep sandstone cliffs to the right. the depth of the water gives off a bluey greeny colour.

This used used to be a favourite for picnics when the suburb was known as Irish Town. My understanding from the old records is that the pool at the base does not dry up it is so deep. It has been spoiled by the runoff from the surrounding streets - polluted with plastic bottles and other rubbish and somewhat denuded of vegetation by chemicals. Pity

The damage is even more noticeable as I make my way down the length of the creek until I can find an easier way to scramble up and back to the path. The impact of runoff damage is very noticeable - hardly any green stuff growing at creek level - either killed by chemicals or all the seeds have been washed way further downstream. My plan for today is to get some better photos of the greenhoods on day 3 with the new lens and then explore the creek a bit more. I do know from the last outing that I need to check framing of the pictures - get further away - and stay with an ISO setting no higher than 1600

Nodding Greenhood - Pterostylis nutans

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pterostylis~nutans

The light for this picture was coming from a good angle and gave me a chance to focus right onto the curve of the labellum - see the fine hairs on it. Taken at f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO-1600. I liked the two flowers standing together

Back Row Nodding

Next photo shows the development of this mayfly orchid. You can just see the brown features of the flower at the top of the stem. Normally the leaf is on the ground - now it is an inch or two off the ground. Once the flower is pollinated, the stem starts to grow higher and takes the leaf with it. This way the seed pod goes higher into the air for a wider dispersal possibility when the seed pod bursts open. Apparently only orchids do this - other plants grow upwards from the ends (i.e., not from the bottom).

Now for a couple better photos of the Cobra Greenhood - first one cropped only a bit and showing the cauline leaves

And the next one cropped in closer - can just see the curve of the labellum inside the hood

Cobra Greenhood - Pterostylis grandiflora

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pterostylis~grandiflora

Taken at f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO-1600. A lot darker in this part of the rain forest and no camera shake.

I went back down the creek and made my way along it - not done this before. Orchid possibilities were poor but there are some nice pools - not sure I would be swimming in this water though.

I did not recognise where I was at this photo point (the angle was new to me as I had come out of the bush along the creek). I crossed diagonally and went across the clear patch and scrambled through the undergrowth.

I was expecting to intersect a concrete path which would take me back towards the roadway. The right hand side of the creek is overgrown with a reed type grass. The sides get steeper. I could see the houses high above me - I thought these were the ones flanking the roadway. I kept making my way up away from the creek and finally broke out of the bush onto a sandy path - I knew where I was. Had I done a good look left and a good look right at the diagonal creek crossing, I would have seen the track - I crossed it there. Dumb things like that happen for a reason - literally 20 metres from where I came out of the bush I found this greenhood-shape.

Coastal Maroonhood - Pterostylis oblonga

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pterostylis~oblonga

Tricky to identify as the flower is not fully open and I cannot see inside. First clue is the hood is maroon = maroonhood.

The next clue is whether the base of the helmet (called the galea) is inflated. In one picture it is and in the other it is not (different flowers).

The overlapping of the hood looks more like the identification made in Alan Stephenson's book Orchid Species of the Shoalhaven. I met Alan on my first orchid spotting walk. A little further on I found another nodding greenhood - first time to find them on this side of the creek.

As I got back to the roadway I note the first red flowers on this exotic orchid growing in someone's garden. Seems early to me - I had seen it last year (November 26 - see Orchids22 . Photo work was tough as the flower was well above my head - I did some engineering to get it to head height.

The frillwork and the yellow of the column looks great

Lastly a photo of the Dancing Lady orchid in my garden - just a few flowers left after flowering all winter from first recording on April 12. Last year it flowered 4 months in winter and two weeks in summer.

Dancing Lady orchid - Oncidium sphacelatum

A new adventure to look at the waterfall and to find my first maroonhood.

Note: Photos taken with Canon Powershot G16 on July 28, 2017