It’s that time of year that you might be lucky enough to spot a little helmet orchid or two hiding in amongst the leaf litter.
They are not easy to spot, but if you’re walking slowly through wet forest, with your bum up and eyes on the ground, chances are you might see some small round or heart-shaped leaves.
While doing a bit of fieldwork at Royal National Park a few weeks ago, I came across one section of track through beautiful wet forest which had literally thousands of helmet orchid leaves of three different species. Only a small proportion of plants flower each year, but in about half an hour I managed to find some nice flowers of each species.
I’m particularly fond of the Corysanthes fimbriata, with their big gaping mouths and mean-looking teeth.
A little colony of Corysanthes fimbriatus.
Corybas aconitiflorus hiding under sticks and leaves in Royal National Park.
Peaking out from under the leaves, Corysanthes pruinosa catching the last bit of dappled sunlight.