It was probably the few native orchids growing at Wirrapunga when I first began to live there, that motivated me to restore the block. As I remember it I noticed a single solitary bearded orchid flowering near the driveway. I decided it would be wonderful to have native orchids covering the whole block.
I also decided that the number of species as well as the numbers of each species would be the measure of whether my methods were successful or not.
Today there are over thirty species thriving at Wirrapunga. The number of individuals would total thousands. Below is a list of the orchids of Wirrapunga as best as I can identify them. Note that there are some I cannot identify. Probably they are natural hybrids.
| Genus | Species | Common Name |
Acianthus |
caudatus |
mayfly orchid mosquito orchid pink fingers blue fairies narrow-lipped spider orchid rabbit orchid lady's finger king spider orchid gnat orchid common beard-orchid hyacinth orchid bulldogs cowslip donkey orchid little donkey orchid parsons bands red midge-orchid wax-lip orchid fringed hare-orchid red-beak orchid common onion orchid tall leek-orchid blunt green-hood slender green-hood tall green-hood dwarf green-hood nodding green-hood marron-hood banded green-hood rabbit-ears giant sun-orchid spotted sun-orchid early pink sun-orchid scented sun-orchid slender sun-orchid common pink sun-orchid |