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Scientific Name
Pyorchis nigricans
Family Name
ORCHIDACEAE
Common Name
Red Beaks, Undertaker Orchid
Status
Height
0.08m - 0.2m (8-20cm)
Flowers
white flowers with prominant dark reddish stripes, large strongly hooded dorsal sepal and a whitish deeply fringed labellum. The plants turn black on drying.
Fruit
Papery capsule
Form
Colony forming orchid with a large fleshy ovate ground-hugging leaf.
Municipalities
Communities
Coastal Vegetation; Grassy Vegetation; Heath; Sedgeland and Wetland
Habitat Notes
Heathy eucalypt woodland, tea tree scrub, sedgeland and heathland on moderately to well-drained sandy soils. Widespread and locally abundant in coastal and near coastal lowland on the Tasman Peninsula and in northern Tasmania, including Bass Strait Is. Also in NSW, Vic., SA and WA.
Site Tolerance
Dry; Exposed
Frost Tolerance
Tender
Soil Tolerance
Poor; Sandy; Well-drained
General Notes
Previously known as Lyperanthus nigricans. Well represented in reserves. Suitable below powerlines.
Propagation Details
Propagation Calendar
Flowering Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Collecting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sowing Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Cutting Months
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Seed Information
Seed Collection
Seed Treatment Method
Standard
Seed Storage Life
Viable Seeds Per Gram
Seed Treatment Notes
Orchid seeds are very minute yellow, brown or blackish dust-like particles. Orchid seeds are produced within a capsule that splits at maturity and releases tousands to millions of seeds. Dispersed by wind and water and only germinate following infection of the embryo by a suitable mycorrhizal fungus. Very few seeds become mature plants. For more information see Jones, Wapstra, Tonelli, Harris (1999): The Orchids of Tasmania.
Germination Time
Suitable for Direct Seeding
Cuttings
Expected Time to Take Root
Expected Time to Plant Out
Propagation by Division
N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.
Cutting Notes
Copyright 2000-2009, Understorey Network Incorporated. Updated 2024-12-12
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith