Black Orchid

Description:

A native to Australia, the Black Orchid is an epiphytic species belonging to the family Orchidaceae, and grows in the forks and hollows of trees. Aka tiger orchid, banana orchid and Queensland black orchid, to name but a few. It has long, smooth, narrow leaves that can grow to a length of 60 cm, and flowers are produced in large clusters or "racemes" that grow to about 40 cm. Individual flowers are star shaped and about 4 cm across. I saw a small handful of these orchids in this part of the forest, but nowhere else (that I noticed, that is). This spotting was growing in the fork of an Ironbark, a native species of eucalypt.

Habitat:

Spotted growing on a tree, on an exposed and sunny section of track in native bushland at Lake Manchester, a freshwater reservoir west of Brisbane. It is located in Brisbane Forest Park, an area of dense native bushland and subtropical rainforest.