If you enjoy walking in Dereel’s natural bushland, keep an eye out for Small Mosquito Orchids Acianthus pusillus which emerge in April. They will continue to appear throughout Autumn and flower into mid-Winter.
Small Mosquito Orchids are tiny. The photo at left shows the leaf being slightly smaller than a five cent coin, so you will have to scan the ground closely to find them.While they grow in varied locations, they do seem to be more prevalent on slight slopes or dips in the ground. Places which may attract more moisture
Look for a heart-shaped leaf which is green on top, and purple beneath. If you can see a tiny purple stem growing upwards, this is the base for a cluster of tiny orchid flowers. Fully grown, the stem will reach somewhere between 5 cm and 20 cm high. The stem can have up to twenty flowers on it.
When the flowers bloom they are truly beautiful. So graceful they remind me of ballerinas. However, you do need a macro lens and the ability to see through the viewfinder very close to the ground to capture them in an image. Here is one of my attempts from May 2014.
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