Undescribed Leek Orchids
Prasophyllum sp.
Notes
These tiny Leek Orchids are closely related to the Autumn Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum parvifolium) and the Scented Autumn Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum sp. ‘early’), but differ from those species by their significantly smaller size, tiny green flowers with white or pink labellum, and the fact that the flowers don’t appear to open widely, suggesting that the orchids are self-pollinating rather than insect-pollinated. The first specimen pictured below was growing in a grassy patch next to a walking track in mixed Eucalypt woodland near Bunbury in southwestern Australia, flowering in mid August 2019. The second specimen I discovered in Sheoak woodland in the south-western Wheatbelt near Williams. It appeared to be in late flower in mid September 2020 and was sharing its habitat with various other orchid species, most notably the Common Dragon Orchid (Caladenia barbarossa) and the Clubbed Spider Orchid (Caladenia longiclavata). In 2022 I then found another specimen growing in lateritic soil in dry, open woodland along the western edge of the Darling Scarp near Perth, flowering in early September.
I initially thought that I had found specimens of an undescribed species called the Rare Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum sp. ‘Brookton Highway’), but that species has slightly different flowers, occurs in swampy areas rather than Eucalypt or Sheoak woodland, and flowers much later in September and October. I therefore suspect that the specimens I found are of an unknown species of Leek Orchid (or possibly even multiple different species), as they would not appear to match any of the three related species currently known to occur in south-western Australia.
Photos
Specimen 1
Specimen 2
Specimen 3
