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There are about 1,000 species of Orchids in Australia and as many as 35,000 species worldwide - making it the largest flower family.
There is only one commercial substance produced from Orchids - vanilla - which is produced from the fruit pod of Vanilla planifolia. For a full description of this marvelous orchid visit www.orchidsaustralia.com/vanilla.html
Although Orchids vary greatly in form, colour and size, their flowers are composed of 6 segments. The outer 3 segments are the sepals; and inner three segments are the petals. The third petal becoming a lip or labellum.
Although the sepals and two of the petals vary greatly across the orchid family, it is the third petal (the labellum) and the column that achieve fascinating, and at times bizarre shapes, sizes and colours.
Insects being the principal pollinators of orchids, often use the labellum as a landing place.
A seedpod may contain more than 2 million seeds.
The Small Waxlip Orchid (Glossodia minor) kindly consented to be used as a model for this botany lesson. The photos above were taken in the Lane Cove National Park.
This web page contains orchids from the greater Sydney area. Please take a look at the Western Australian Orchids web page.
The Spotted Sun Orchid (Thelymitra ixioides var. ixioides), also known as the Blue Sun Orchid has dark blue dots on its upper three segments.
The flower is 25mm wide, but needs a sunny day to open.
It is best identified by the finger like papillae as not all Spotted Sun Orchids have spots as this image shows.
The photos of the Spotted Sun Orchid were taken in Lane Cove National Park.
White Fingers (Caladenia catenata) to the right, and Pink Fingers (Caladenia carnea) to the left, are known as Lady's Fingers.
They are small orchids 20-30mm across.
Besides its slight pink colour, Pink Fingers is distinguished from White Fingers by the red stripes on its labellum.
These photos were taken in the Lane Cove National Park.
 Donkey Orchids are easily recognised by their donkey ear-like petals with two leg-like sepals below. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 This spring flowering Donkey Orchid is 30mm from the top of its petals to the bottom of its sepals. A key in its identification is the lack of a callus on its labellum. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Resembling a duck in flight, with its sepals for wings, its labellum as its head and its column for a body. This small orchid's labellum snaps shut against the column trapping the visiting insect and turning it into a pollinator. (upper Blue Mountains) |
 Flowering in winter, this translucent green orchid stays "drooped". The flower is 20mm long. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Characterised by its long leaves and the multiple flowers on each stem. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Also known as the Pointed Greenhood after its pointed labellum. It flowers in Autumn with a single flower at the end of each stem - the stem has a rosette of leaves at its base. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Summer flowering, its green stem differentiates it from the Hyacinth Orchid - Dipodium punctatum. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Also known as the Duck Orchid due to is bill or tongue like labellum - which is around 30mm in length. The sepals and other petals are small and spike like. (upper Blue Mountains) |
 A small orchid about 12mm wide. Its petal-like labellum is narrower than the other petals & sepals. (upper Blue Mountains) |
 Also known as the Piano Orchid, this orchid occurs in all other Australian States except the North Territory. Its long leaf stem can be seen in the background. (upper Blue Mountains) |
 A small orchid that is 20mm wide. The flower stem is leafless - the leaf leaving the stem near the ground. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 This orchid is all labellum. The other petals and the sepals looking more like leaves. It is also known as the Bonnet Orchid and the Tartan Tongue Orchid. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Spring flowering, the Copper Beard Orchid is identified by the two blue plates on its labellum. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 Spring flowering, its thick beard at the top of the labellum differentiates it from the other Beard Orchids. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 A tiny orchid well hidden by is mute colours and shady locations. Also known as Pixie Caps, its basal leaf helps locate and identify it. (Lane Cove National Park) |
 On first appearance it looks like a withered orchid - but its light brown flowers and stems are its natural colours. Also known as Cinnamon Bells. (upper Blue Mountains) |