Orchids

In Tasmania a large variety of orchids grow in native grasslands. Every spring (October and November), orchid enthusiasts from around the Island go in search of these fascinating and exotic-looking plants. Orchid names often reflect their individuality and include the spider, sun and trim leek orchid.

Orchids are small plants and often hard to spot. One of the best times to find them is after a bushfire - they respond to fire by flowering. (Orchids have underground tubers which are unaffected by fire, and which allow them to recover before other vegetation. As other heath plants recover and become denser, orchids tend to disappear until the next fire.)

As native grasslands have been taken over for agricultural purposes, orchids have disappeared from many parts of Tasmania.