Dick Wettenhall probes the underworld of this miraculous plant species (including sexual deception) and reveals the threat posed by sand mining to some of Victoria’s rarest orchid communities. Photo: Kalgoorlie Donkey Orchid (Diuris brumalis) By Dick Wettenhall
A SEMINAL moment for me was the discovery of spectacular Donkey Orchids growing in virtual sand south of Kalgoorlie. With no water in sight, I wondered how these delicate plants survived.
I am reminded of this when driving past the sand mine-scarred bushlands along Western Port’s shoreline stretching from Lang Lang to Glen Forbes. Disturbingly, this is one of Bass Coast’s few remaining areas of remnant bushland, and home for some of Victoria’s rarest orchids.
The survival of these orchids, as with Kalgoorlie’s Donkey Orchids, is the product of millions of years of evolutionary adaptation to the extraordinarily intricate underground ecology of dry nutrient-poor soils. Tragically, it only takes seconds for sand mining bulldozers and excavators to irreversibly destroy these remarkable ecosystems.
A SEMINAL moment for me was the discovery of spectacular Donkey Orchids growing in virtual sand south of Kalgoorlie. With no water in sight, I wondered how these delicate plants survived.
I am reminded of this when driving past the sand mine-scarred bushlands along Western Port’s shoreline stretching from Lang Lang to Glen Forbes. Disturbingly, this is one of Bass Coast’s few remaining areas of remnant bushland, and home for some of Victoria’s rarest orchids.
The survival of these orchids, as with Kalgoorlie’s Donkey Orchids, is the product of millions of years of evolutionary adaptation to the extraordinarily intricate underground ecology of dry nutrient-poor soils. Tragically, it only takes seconds for sand mining bulldozers and excavators to irreversibly destroy these remarkable ecosystems.