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Scientific Name
Gastrodia procera
Family Name
ORCHIDACEAE
Common Name
Tall Potato Orchid
Status
Height
0.6m - 1.2m (60-120cm)
Flowers
erect inflorescence both in bud and flower, and numerous crowded tubular brown flowers to 25mm long.
Fruit
Papery capsule
Form
Robust leafless orchid with a brown scape.
Municipalities
Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Highlands; Circular Head; Derwent Valley; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; Kentish; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Launceston; Meander Valley; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast
Communities
Dry Eucalypt Forest and Woodland; Grassy Vegetation
Habitat Notes
Tall, shrubby or grassy open eucalypt forest, often in clearings and on disturbed margins of roads and tracks, in well-drained loams and clays rich in humus, often in deep accumulated litter. Widespread but locallised and uncommon, favouring higher rainfall areas up to 600m. Also in NSW., ACT. and Vic.
Site Tolerance
Dry; Exposed; Moist; Shady
Frost Tolerance
Hardy
Soil Tolerance
Clay; Fertile; Loam; Sandy; Well-drained
General Notes
Fires do not occur frquently in the habitats of this species, but flowering is enhanced by summer fires. G. procera. is 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 2024-10-14
Database development and website design by
Andrew Smith