Project overview
The Wild Orchids Project contributes to the long-term survival of three endangered orchid species:
- Sand-hill Spider Orchid (Caladenia arenaria)
- Crimson Spider Orchid (Caladenia concolor)
- Oaklands Diuris or Oaklands Donkey Orchid (Diuris callitrophila).
Project objectives
This project aims to increase the population sizes of all three orchids species to 3000 plants each.
Project background
Orchids are important and striking additions to local biodiversity. Australia hosts over 1,700 species, but many face extinction without proper management.
Monitoring in 2014 indicated that there were less than:
- 2000 Sand-hill Spider Orchids
- 75 Crimson Spider Orchids
- 1000 Oaklands Diuris Orchids left in the wild.
Project delivery
- New populations of orchids are being established by propagating seed from the remaining remnant populations and planting into new secured sites.
- Invasive grasses and weeds are being controlled at all known remnant sites.
- Thinning of cypress pine is being undertaken at some remnant sites.
- Rabbit and stock proof fencing is being installed at new sites and maintained at remnant sites to prevent grazing of orchids.
- Monitoring is undertaken at all known remnant sites and new translocation sites.
- Research into key pollinators and orchid propagation methods is being supported by the project.
Work underway
Reducing threats with:
- weed control (gazania, African lovegrass, boxthorn, St john’s wort)
- fencing to exclude livestock, feral and native herbivores
- white cypress pine ecological thinning
- firebreak maintenance
- irrigation systems established on reintroduction sites.
Increasing populations with:
- wild population of Crimson Spider Orchids discovered at Benambra National Park
- wild population of Oaklands Donkey Orchid found at Urana TSR
- 5 translocation enclosures built (1.5m high fencing, water tanks)
- 6 sites planted out with 6130 orchids (1683 Caladenia arenaria, 431 Caladenia concolor, and 4,016 Diuris callitrophilla).
Community involvement and capacity building through:
- 25 events.
Increasing ecological knowledge with:
- baseline ecological data – identification of suitable translocation sites
- identified key pollinators species for all three orchids
- isolated mycorrhizal fungi
- increased knowledge of orchid propagation.
How to get involved
On your own property you can:
- Avoid soil disturbance – one of the main threats to orchids is inadvertent damage from track maintenance (vehicle, bike and walking tracks).
- Weed control – annual exotic grasses, st john’s wort and gazania will out-compete native orchids.
- Manage herbivores – newly germinated orchids are easily grazed out by native and introduced herbivores (rabbits, feral goats, kangaroos, livestock).
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Outcomes
More than 6000 native orchids have been planted across the NSW Murray region as part of Australia’s largest orchid translocation project, saving these species from extinction.
NSW Environment Minister James Griffin said under the NSW Government’s Wild Orchids Project, three endangered orchid species have been brought back from the brink and are now expected to thrive.
“This enormous translocation project follows years of surveys and research and culminates today with a patchwork of native orchids planted across the Riverina landscape,” said Mr Griffin.
“Until now, the future of the sand-hill spider orchid, Oaklands donkey orchid and crimson spider orchid was genuinely at risk as there was a chance we would lose these species forever.
“This project is conservation in action. We know that what we are doing today will save these species into the future.
“The orchids have been planted across public and private land, on specially selected sites with suitable soil conditions, pollinators and vegetation types to encourage their growth.
“These native orchids truly are the jewels of the bush as they are so rare, so valuable and flower in a spectacular range of colours including ruby red, yellow and mauve,” said Mr Griffin.
Wild Orchids Project Manager Shanna Rogers said that in partnership with Saving our Species ecologists, Murray Local Land Services coordinated the careful mass planting at different sites over ten days.
“Local Land Services and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment worked closely with project partners to set up orchid re-introduction areas across various tenures. Parklands Albury Wodonga installed stock-proof fencing and water tanks on land owned by Federation Council, Forestry NSW, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Crown Lands and a private landholder in readiness for the orchid reintroduction plantings,’ said Ms Rogers.
The orchids were propagated by the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and planted in July 2022 with the help of the Australasian Native Orchid Society’s (ANOS) Victorian team of highly skilled and passionate volunteers. Local volunteers from Parklands Albury Wodonga, Corowa District Landcare & Woomargama National Park also assisted with the plantings.
“Without the support of our project partners and the local and interstate volunteers, this mass reintroduction of these stunning and threatened orchids simply would not have been possible,’ said Ms Rogers.
A recently discovered population of a rare native orchid east of Jerilderie has been protected from grazing stock.
Located on a travelling stock reserve near Urana, the stand of at least 250 endangered Oaklands donkey orchids (Diuris caillitrophilla) is now surrounded by a stock-proof fence, thanks to work by Murray Local Land Services and Parklands Albury Wodonga.
“This is a rare and precious discovery on a reserve that is regularly used to graze travelling stock, so it was important that we acted to protect the population,” said Murray Local Land Services Wild Orchid Project Officer, Natasha Lappin.
“We believe there are fewer than 1000 Oaklands donkey orchid left in the wild, so to discover this many in a single stand is really exciting.”
Ms Lappin said the site was only the fourth known population of the flower, which is only found in open, grassy, white cypress woodlands on light soils between Urana and Oaklands.
“Geoff Robertson, Senior Threatened Species Officer, DPIE and I discovered a single flower on the reserve in 2017 while looking for potential orchid translocation sites, but due to the dry conditions in the following two years, no plants emerged,” she said.
“Then in November 2020 we found this stand of flowering plants, with similar numbers recorded at the site this year.”
Jerilderie-based Travelling Stock Reserves Ranger, Roger Harris, said the significant discovery came as a pleasant surprise.
“With the way this reserve is used by grazing stock, we realised we needed to protect the orchid, particularly when it’s flowering and seed setting, such as at this time of year,” he said.
“This is a great example of the enormous value of travelling stock reserves as both a resource for graziers and a haven for native flora and fauna. When managed well and used appropriately by graziers and the public alike, they can fulfil both roles.”
Described as “stunning”, Oaklands donkey orchids have multiple white, mauve or purple flowers on a single stem. The flowers are slightly fragrant, and the flowering stem can reach as high as 50cm. Flowering occurs in November, and pollination occurs via food deception, with native blue-banded bees (Amegilla sp.) attracted to the flowers because of their superficial resemblance to other nearby plants (such as chocolate lilies) that provide nectar and pollen.
A recently discovered population of the Oaklands Donkey orchid (Diuris callitrophilla) has been protected from grazing stock at a TSR near Urana.
The Oaklands diuris or Oaklands donkey orchid is listed as Endangered in NSW. Fewer than 1,000 plants are believed to exist in the wild.
“Geoff Robertson, Senior Threatened Species Officer, DPIE and I discovered a single flowering orchid on the TSR in 2017, whilst looking for potential orchid translocations sites for the Wild Orchid Project. However, due to the dry conditions, no plants emerged in 2018 and 2019,” said Natasha Lappin, Murray LLS Wild Orchids Project Officer.
“In November 2020, we found at least 250 flowering plants at the site, and similar numbers were recorded at the site this season.”
This site is the fourth known population of the orchid, which is only found in open grassy white cypress pine woodlands on light sandy soils between Urana and Oaklands.
Oaklands Donkey orchids are stunning with multiple white, mauve or purple flowers on a single stem. The flowers are slightly fragrant, and the flowering stem can reach as high as 50 cm. Flowering occurs in November, and pollination occurs via food deception, with native blue-banded bees (Amegilla sp.) attracted to the flowers because of their superficial resemblance to other nearby plants (such as chocolate lilies) that provide nectar and pollen.
“The discovery of the fourth known population of the endangered orchids on the TSR was significant. The reserve regularly receives grazing stock, and we realised we needed to protect the orchid from stock mainly when the orchid is flowering,“ explained Roger Harris, TSR Ranger.
This population has now been protected from grazing stock by fencing installed by Parklands Albury Wodonga to protect the orchid during flowering and seed setting from October to December.
Spring 2020 has been a great season for orchids across the Murray region due to the good rainfall between June to September.
Wild orchid project monitoring has indicated that many endangered orchids that emerged and flowered this year have been dormant for at least five years.
This spring has seen so many wildflowers and native orchids popping up across the region. From the scorched earth of the Upper Murray to the drought-recovering western plains, orchids have bloomed and bounced back this year.
It has also been an excellent season for our endangered orchids. Flowering populations of the endangered Sandhill spider orchid (Caladenia arenaria), Crimson spider orchid (Caladenia concolor) & Oaklands Donkey Orchid (Diuris callitrophilla) have increased after several dry years.
The Sandhill spider orchid, Crimson spider orchid, and Oaklands Donkey Orchid exist as dormant underground tubers in summer. They usually emerge in autumn and winter and flower in spring, however, the drought conditions over the last three years have resulted in low numbers of orchids appearing.
The good rainfall events this year, specifically between June to September have prompted orchid emergence and flowering.
The table below summarises Wild Orchid Project monitoring since 2016.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Sandhill spider orchid | 395 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 128 |
Crimson spider orchid | 0 | 235 | 146 | 91 | Not available |
Oaklands donkey orchid | 547 | 145 | 2 | 18 | 909 |
Monitoring of the Oaklands Donkey Orchid also confirmed a new population of the orchids at a TSR near Urana. In 2017, monitoring staff discovered a solitary flowering orchid on the site, and since then no orchids have emerged.
Approximately 252 plants were found this year of which, 34 are counted within the monitoring plot numbers above. Plans are now underway to protect the orchids from stock grazing during flowering and seed setting over November and December.
After a lean few years, it is a relief to get improved numbers of these threatened orchids emerging and flowering. Next year we will begin to plant out orchids that have been propagated and grown in the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria laboratories into specially established translocation plots.
Work is currently underway to set-up 2 areas within Woomargama National Park as translocation sites to establish new populations of the Crimson Spider Orchid.
Parklands Albury Wodonga in partnership with Murray Local Land Services, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment – Conservation and Biodiversity Division, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Woomargama National Parks Volunteers have started fencing out two 50m x 20m areas.
Woomargama National Park is suitable for crimson spider orchids as it has similar vegetation species composition to the Nail Can Hill and Benambra National Park where the wild populations of Crimson Spider Orchids currently exist.
Surveys by the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria also confirmed that the key pollinator for crimson spider orchids, native Thynnine wasps were present at the translocation sites.
The 2 Woomargama sites will be planted out with laboratory-grown orchids propagated by experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria within the next 2 years.
Funding and partnerships
This project is funded through the NSW Environmental Trust and delivered in collaboration with:
- NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment – Conservation & Biodiversity Division
- Department of Primary Industries – Lands
- Forestry Corporation of NSW
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Local Government
- Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne orchid specialists
- Australian Network for Plant Conservation orchid specialists
- Parklands Albury Wodonga
- landholders.
For more information about the project, please contact Shanna Rogers on 0457 733 261 or shanna.rogers@lls.nsw.gov.au.
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