Table Of ContentContributions
The Tasmanian records ofthe
Fertile Caladenia Caladeniaprolata D.L. Jones
John Whinray
FlindersIsland,Tasmania7255
Abstract
Inlate 1998 thefirstTasmanian record ofthe FertileCaladenia Caladeniaprolata D.L. Joneswas madein a
gullyonthewesternslopesofStrzeleckiPeaks intheStrzeleckiNationalParkonFlindersIsland.Thelocality
isdescribedbelow,latersearchesfrom 1999to2006aredealtwith,anestimateofthenumberofplantsgiven,
and a threat to the major site is discussed. As the taxon is scheduled as endangered’ underthe Tasmanian
ThreatenedSpeciesProtectionAct1995,theexactlocalitiesarenotgivenherebutaredetailedonthespecimens’
labels.(TheVictorianNaturalist129(4),2012,144-146)
KeyWords: FlindersIsland,FertileCaladenia, Caladeniaprolata, endangeredTasmanianplant
Thediscoveryin 1998
The western slopes of Strzelecki Peaks have cupressiforme (main species) and the ground
been seriously damaged by bushfires. A gully lichen Cladia aggregata. There was one more
ofthe slopestillhasadominantlayerofWhite plant on a level block at the base ofthe face.
Gums Eucalyptus viminalis and Tasmanian The canopy of the one adjacent Hazel Dog-
Blue Gums Eucalyptus globulus subsp. globu- wood extended tojust past the site. Two lower
lus but its understorey has, in the main, been Prickly Currant-bushes reached to just above
replaced byStinkwood Zieria arborescens with the edge ofthe slab and the block at its base.
a lowerlayer, often dense, ofTall Cutting-rush The nearest other shrub, growing from soil by
Lepidosperma elatius. A granite jumble, up to theedgeofthejumble,wasaNativeHopDodo-
m
6 deep,runsfromthisgullytojustpastatrib- naeaviscosavar. spatulata. Thenearbyherbs of
utarygully, notfarupstream fromtheirconflu- thejumbleincluded BiserrateFireweedSenecio
ence.Thejumble,whichincludessomebedrock biserratus,FireweedSeneciolinearifolius, Scrub
at its uphill edge, carries a few remnant rain- Nettle Urtica incisa, Sickle Fern Pellaeafalcata
forest shrubs. There are four Hazel Dogwood and Streaked Rock-orchid Dockrillia striolata
Pomaderris apetala, one Banyalla Pittosporum subsp.striolata.
bicolor, and several Prickly Currant-bush Co-
Specimen
prosma quadrifida. The jumble supports just
onesmallWhiteGum.ThefringingBlueGums 12.xi.1998,gullyofwestern slopesofStrzelecki
andWhiteGumsoverhangpartsofitsedge. P1e0a6k0s1,, AFulsitnrdaelrisanINsalatnido.nalJoHhenrbWahriinurmaCyANNoB.
In November 1998, some orchids, thought
669287.
bythe length oftheirleaves when found three
months previouslytobeaSun-orchid Thelymi- Laterrecordsattheinitiallocality
tra sp., were checked in the jumble. The buds 25June 1999: 12leavesontheslab;noneonthe
showed them to be a Caladenia species. Their blockatitsbase.
green colour was novel to the author and five 27November 1999: ‘notasignoftheorchids’
plants, less corms, were posted fresh to David 2 October2001: sixbuddingplantsontheslab.
Jones at the Australian National Herbarium in 27 October 2002: eight leaves on the slab and
Canberra. He determined them as Caladenia oneontheblockatitsbase.
prolata, anAustralian mainlandspeciesnot re- 15 October 2005: none under the dense Scrub
cordedpreviouslyinTasmania. Nettle on the slab; two leaves on the slab at its
Twelveoftheplantsgrewon thesteep (about base.
m
70°) east north-easterly face of a slab 5-6 5 October2006: noplantsontheslabwhenthe
above the base ofthe jumble. They rose from Scrub Nettle was removed; none on the block
amat ofCommon Filmy-fern Hymenophyllum atitsbase.
144 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
Nearbyrecords themhadbeennibbled.Therewerenobuds.As
On 5 October 2006, six Caladenia plants were none has been found flowering, they have not
foundjust north ofthenorthwestern corner of beenaddedtothetotal.Itseemslikely,however,
m
the granite jumble. They occurred in 1 x 3 that theycould includetheFertileCaladenia.
mofsoilthathadnotbeen nuzzledbythepigs. A group of about 40 Caladenia plants was
The understorey, which started by a seasonal found on the crown ofa downstream boulder
spring just west ofthe spot, was Rough Tree- on 12 November 1998. The locality has since
fern CyatheaaustralisoverSoftTree-fernDick- beencheckedmorethan 15times. Thenumber
soniaantarctica. Nearby,inabout20mbyupto ofplantssurvivingbythefloweringperiodeach
15mofdamptoverywetgroundoneitherside year depends on whether or not the brushtail
ofthespring,wereatleast92 Caladenia plants, possums canreachthem.Thecrownwasmade
making this the major site. White Gums were accessible during this period when a large
themain dominantand aBlue Gum theminor shrubfellagainsttheboulder. Atleast30leaves
dominantofthelocality.Therewerenoshrubs. were noticed on 25 June 1999 but only 18 re-
The first understorey layer was Rough Tree- mained on 27 November that year. Fifty-nine
ferns; there were Soft Tree-ferns below them. plants were counted on 5 October 2006 and it
Much ofthe ground was bare ofother plants seemed that there would be a general flower-
buttheorchidsextendedintoTallCutting-rush ing. However, only eight had buds by the 24th
near the head ofthe spring. The extra plants ofthat month. Just six plants remained by 14
broughtthelocaltotaltoatleast98. November. Flowering plants have been found
Two specimens were taken at the major site on only two occasions. As all were pink Sum-
on 14 November 2006 and forwarded fresh merFingers, theyhavebeenexcluded from the
to the Australian National Herbarium. Both totalgiven above.
were determined as Caladenia prolata. Three
Specimen (oftwo)
bsuadmdeinsigteCoanla2d5enNioavpelmabntesrw2e0r0e6 taankd,enliakte tthhee 14.xi.2006 Onaboulderinagullyofthewest-
ern slopes ofStrzelecki Peaks, Flinders Island.
prior specimens, were sent to David Jones in
Canberra. They were named as one C. prolata JCoAhNnBWh7i40n5r0a3y. No. 12945 Caladenia vulgaris,
and twoSummerFingers C. vulgaris.
Comparisonwithmainlandhabitatsofthe
Specimens
FertileCaladenia
14.xi.2006 In a gully ofthe western slopes of
The Tasmanian rainforest habitat contrasts
StrzeleckiPeaks,FlindersIsland.JohnWhinray
No. 12946 Caladenia prolata, CANB 740504; strongly with that ofthe Australian mainland.
samelocality,John WhinrayNo. 12947,C.pro- In Victoria the orchid is ‘Primarily a plant of
lata, CANB 740505; 25.xi.2006, same locality, near-coastal closed scrublands and open for-
JohnWhinrayNo. 12957,oneC.prolataCANB ests, where it grows in sand and clay loams.
780234andtwoC. vulgaris, CANB780234. Also found in woodlands on sandy soils and
seasonallyinundated,heavyclayloams.’ (Back-
Otherpossiblerecords house and Jeanes 1995: 96). It is ‘Widespread
AsingleCaladeniaplantwasnoticedelsewhere inthewetterdistricts...’ofSouthAustraliaand
in the jumble but was not sighted again. A is ‘Particularly common in leafand bark litter
group ofnine Caladenia plants was found on underpinkgum,cupgumandcoastalmalleein
the western edge ofthejumble on 24 October scrubsand woodland in avariety ofsoil types’
2006. They rose from a mat of the common (Bates2011: 13).
Filmy-fern near where animals used a track
Discussion
down the patch’s eastern edge. An attempt
was made to cover the plants by using fallen While the granite jumble was missed by the
shrubs but there were few to hand. The partial bushfire of 1960, all the understorey in its
cover did not stop the animals, which feed by vicinity was burnt. The prior major fire on the
sNcoevnetmabterni,ghfti,vefrloeamversearcehmianigntehde aplnadntss.omBye 1o4f Satbrozuetleackmionmatshsi(fAtwhaoslDianrtc,.1p9er3s9.acnodmmla.stMeadrfcohr
Vol 129 (4) 2012 145
1
Contributions
1965). Theabsenceofrainforest shrubs suchas outnoticinganyCaladeniasaboveabout250m.
Hazel Dogwood and Musk Olearia argophylla The plants there, and at c. 225 m, were Green-
from the gully could be the result offires and combSpider-orchidsC. dilatata.
the intensive nuzzlingbythe feral pigs. Nearly Thesole recordofa Caladeniaatahigher el-
m
all of the accessible ground in the gully, and evation on the island is at about 500 in the
on the balance ofthe slopes, has been worked uppersouth-western crevice ofHigher Double
bythem repeatedly, to as much as 45 cm deep. Peak, thesummit ofa dissected plateau south-
Most ofthe other orchids surviving in soil are east ofMt Munro. Thirtyplants ofthe Elegant
at the edges of the track, hardened by thou- Caladenia C. cracenswerecountedthereinlate
sands ofvisitors. November2008.
Pigshavenuzzledtowithin afewcentimetres
ThestatusoftheFertileCaladeniainTas-
ofthe eastern edge ofthe major extant occur-
mania
wreonrcketohfetdheamFeprtoirlemCuadldadyengirao.uTnhdeoyfhtahevespyreitngt.o TuhndeerFertthieleTCaaslmaadneinaina TC.hrperaotleanteadiSspescciheesduPlreod-
There is no apparent reason fortheirfailure to tection Act 1995 as ‘endangered’. The mixed
use the western extension ofthe site, amongst occurrence ofFertile Caladenias and Summer
Tall Cutting-rush. There seems to be no cause, Fingersatthemajorsiteofthewesternslopesof
exceptfortherepeatednuzzlingandtheeating
ofcorms, for the Fertile and Common Calad- WSthrizleleectkhiePFeearktsilteotCaalllaeddeaniliattlweaosveprro1b0a0bpllyantthse.
eniastobesorestrictedinrange. Furtherdimi- more common taxon, its schedulingas endan-
nutionoftheirhabitatatthemajorsitecouldbe geredisthoroughlyappropriate.
prevented by frequent baiting ofa substantial
area around it. Ifcarried out consistently this Acknowledgements
could even allow the orchids to spread slowly Jo Palmer of CANB checked the final mixed
collection(No. 12957) andsuppliedalltheaccession
intheadjacentsoil. numbers of the specimens. The bushfire of about
The author has spent some 30 days rambling 1939 extended to the flatswell east ofthe Strzelecki
on the peaks’ western slopes without finding Peaks and burnt down Athol Darts family home
any further trace ofthe Fertile Caladenia and there.ThelmaShaikofFlindersIslandprovidedmany
Summer Fingers. Parts ofthe lower southern leirftnspwahrtenoftthheeanuatthioornalwapsarwkorinkitnhge ltahtee n1o9r90tsh.weTshte-
slopeofthepeakshavebeenworkedonseveral loan ofa vehicle bysome members ofthe Loipune
occasions without even one Caladenia leafbe- Co-operativemadethevisitsof2006,2010and2011
ing noticed. Pink Fingers C. carnea were not possible. The manydrafts ofthis contribution were
found higher to the west of the peaks than CtyepnetdreoonnaFlipnudbelriscIcsolamnpdu.ter of the Online Access
c. 290 m. The Fertile Caladenia and Summer
Fingers were at about 305 m. The main occur- References
rence ofthe Elegant Caladenia Caladenima cra- Ba(cTkhheouMsieegGunaynadhPJreeasnse:sCaJr(l1t9o9n5)) The Orchids ofVictoria.
cens was on the western side at c. 525 and BatesRS(ed)(2011)SouthAustralia’sNativeOrchids.DVD-
justoneplantwasnoticedat700m.TheAlpine ROM, (Native Orchid Society of South Australia Inc:
Adelaide)
Caladenia C. alpina occurred from about 700
m m m
to 782 on the four peaks and at c. 690
onthecrestjustsouth ofthem.
Mt Munro is the summit ofCape Barren Is-
land, the second largest island of Banks and
m
eastern Bass Straits. Its summit is 711 high Recveived14April2011;accepted18August201
and Big Hill, themassifsnorth- western knoll,
risesto490m.Theauthorhasbeensomewhere
onthemassifjustover80timessince1964with-
146 TheVictorianNaturalist
