The sole Tasmanian record of the Elbow Orchid 'Thynninorchis Huntianus' (F. Muell.) D.L. Jones and M.A. Clem

2007·0.55 MB·English

by  John Whinray

NaturalistNote
The sole Tasmanian record ofthe Elbow Orchid
&
Thynninorchis huntianus (F. Muell.) D.L. Jones M.A. Clem.
The Elbow Orchid Thynninorchis At the narrow gap between this area and
huntianus (F. Muell.) D.L. Jones & M.A. shorter growth was a single plant of an
Clem, was collected from a small scrub orchid novel to Maureen Christie and me.
remnant in Smith’s Gully on Flinders At a glance it looked like a dead sundew
Island on 3 January 1972. The site and Drosera sp. It brought the name Spiculea
associated species are detailed below. The to mind for one of us and, at home, it
area has since been cleared. The specimen turned out- using Nicholls (1969) - to be
remains the soleTasmanianrecordto date. theElbowOrchidSpiculeahuntiana.
Later, Mr Eric Warren, the owner ofthe
TheSite and Discovery property, told me that he thought the for-
Smith’s Gully is the main north-eastern mer eucalypts of the site were probably
valley ofthe granite Strzelecki massif in White Gums Eucalyptus viminalis.
the south-western corner of Flinders
However, this seemed to be based on the
Island. Most ofthe valley’s floor, and the eucalypts elsewhere on the block rather
wleevrelegcrloeuanrdedtobtehfeobroeuntdhaerylantoerth19o6f0si.t, than actual observation at the site. 1
Dimmock (1957) mapped the area as Tinhsepescctreudbtrheemlnoacnaltitsytaortnin2g5aFbeoburtua3r0ym2e0t0r6e.s
falling within the Loccota Soil Type. He west ofthe site has Shining Peppermint
summarised this as ‘Various angular grits Eucalyptus nitida dominant over old and
and other soils on granite detritus.’ decaying Whip-stick Teatree. The same
However, he gave no detail about the eucalypt is the only dominant in an old
Smith’s Gully area, and confined his com-
scrub patchjust north-west in the adjacent
ments to the strip alongthe western, south-
western and southern bases of the property. It is also the only eucalypt in the
major remnant ofbush starting about 200
Strzelecki massif, which he assessed as the metreswest ofthe site. It is also thenearest
majoroccurrence ofLoccotasoil. dominant to the south. However, there is a
The Smith’s Gully farm includes all the small group ofWhite Gums at about 150
vBayll1ey97a2ndtheexrteewnedrseatlwitotlecowtatyagetsojtuhsetnsoortuht.h metressouth-westofthesite.
of the farm’s northern boundary and a Later Searches and Status
small scrub remnant had been left beside When I checked the site in the mid-1970s
the western one. The taller part had therewas no trace ofthe orchid. MrWayne
Manuka Leptospermum scoparium and the Warren, a resident of Smiths Gully,
Tasmanian endemic Whip-stick Teatree searchedthesurviving scrub patchesduring
Leptospermum glaucescens as the domi- the following season but his search was
nant shrubs. Their understorey, which fruitlesstoo (Wayne Warren,pers. comm.).
ranged in height from 45 to 60 cm, was Since 1972, my collecting has continued
Common Heath Epacris irnpressa, Rock on Flinders Island and 99 other islands
Teatree Kunzea ambigua, South-eastern between Wilsons Promontory and the
Broom-heath Monotoca glauca and north-easterncomerofmainlandTasmania.
Golden PeaAotusericoides. Theherbs that Myvascularplantspecimenspassed 13 000
could be named were the Forked Comb- in December 2006. However, there are
fern Schizaea bifida, Errienellum Drosera many tens of thousands of hectares of
peltata var. auriculata and the Purple Shining Peppermints, with a major under-
Beard-orchid Calochilus robertsonii. The storey of Whip-stick Teatree, on Flinders
other orchids were too over-developed to Island but very little work seems to have
be determined but were a sun-orchid been done in them at the flowering time of
Thelymitra sp., a Caladenia and a Leek- the Elbow Orchid. To date this species still
orchidPrasophyllum sp.. remains known in Tasmania by just the
310 The Victorian Naturalist
BookReview
single plant collected irfJanuary 1972. So Acknowledgements
the orchid is appropriately scheduled, Jeffrey Jeanes, Catherine Gallagher and Jill
under the Tasmanian ThreatenedSpecies TVihcutrolrioaw,,kailnldloyfatshseisNtaetdiwointahlrHeefrerbeanrciesumanodf
ProtectionAct 1995,as endangered.
localitydetails.
Extension ofthespecies’ range References
The nearest Australian mainland site is Dimmock GM (1957) The Soils ofFlinders Island,
near Wonthaggi in Victoria. The Tasmania. Soils andLand Use Series No. 23.
eTxatsemndasnithaenspleocciaelsi’tyranatgeSsmoimteh’2s10Guklilloy- Nic(bDhyiovlDilassvioiWndiloJlfoiSnaoemisls(,a1nC9d6S9I)BRrOOu:rcceMheiMldubsioruorf(nATeu)hsotrmaalsiaN,eeldsiotne:d
metrestothe south-east. JoMneeslbDoLu,rneC)lements MA, Sharma IK, Mackenzie AM
TheSpecimen andMolloyBP(2002)NomenclaturalNotesArising
from Studies in the Tribe Duiridae (Orchidaceae),
3.i.1972, Smith’s Gully, Flinders Island, at TheOrchadian, 13(10), 467.
0594839, 5550532; 40" 11’ 24-5”, 148”06’
50-8” (Datum AGD66; estimated error: 7
metres). John Whinray C2011 & Maureen John Whinray
Christie; CANB 332344. FlindersIsland,7255
The current generic name ofthe Elbow
Orchid was assigned by Jones et al.
(2002).
Birds ofthe Long Forest
1889-2005
by Marilyn Hewish, Rosemary Ward, Rohan Bugg
and David Munday
Publisher: FriendsofWerribee GorgeandLongForestMalleeInc
C/-Parks Victoria, 219MainStreet, BacchusMarsh, Vic3340.
ISBN0 95812003X, RRP$40.90
The ‘Long Forest’ ofthe title ofthis book cal records ofbirds in the area and biogra-
is the Long Forest Nature Conservation phies of three early, well-known bird-
Reserve, north of the Western Highway watchers.
between Melton and Bacchus Marsh, and Manyyearsago myhusbandand 1 owned
selected areas in its vicinity. This area is a block ofbushland on the Diggers Rest-
unique and important because it contains Coimadai Road. How I wish we still had
outliers of Mallee vegetation at least 100 it. It was very close to Lake Merrimu and
km from the main Victorian distribution the Long Forest and I recall the bittercon-
and separated by the Great Dividing servation battle when part of the Long
Range. This wonderful book is a lot more Forest, with its unique Mallee vegetation,
thananannotated listofbirds andwhereto was subdivided for large housing blocks.
find them. For the past 25 years the In an act ofgenerosity demonstrating great
authors and birdwatchers from many forethought. Bill Wilson purchased 148 ha
organisations have studied the bird com- in 1977. This was ultimately transferred to
munity ofthe Long Forest in detail. This the Crown and became the first part ofthe
area has been a birdwatcher’s paradise Long Forest Reserve. The reserve has
since the 1880s when the train line was since been enlarged and, as a small rem-
extended to Melton. The book also nant, the Long Forest is a treasure trove of
includes painstakingly researched histori- plants and animals. Let’s hope that addi-
Vol. 124 (5) 2007 311