Caleana Major Flying Duck Orchid

[Bloomin_Aussie]

That plant would most likely have been a salvage from natural habitat that was being developed for housing or road expansion. You cannot buy them as nobody sells them. They are extremely difficult to propagate.

[pasojanice]

Thanks so much anyway. It's just one of the neatest plants I have seen. Well....I can only wish!
pasojanice

[Bloomin_Aussie]

No harm in asking. Unfortunately for us orchid addicts we have to accept the fact that some plants are just better left to nature

[Andrew]

Yes, those plants were salvaged with permits during a road widening. I've never seen them for sale either.

Tommymiami,
Regarding fungi and repotting, repotting is always the danger period for the more fungi dependant Australian terrestrials as the fungi doesn't seem to like disturbance. It's standard practice to repot Australia terrestrials into half new and half old mix to help any fungi re-establish in the pot. However, with the more fungi dependant species, repotting both the dormant tubers and the actively growing plants in this way is still a gamble.

[Maryanne]

If you like this photo, you should read "An enthusiasm for Orchids" by John Alcock, on is trek aroudn Oz to find various spieces in the wild.
An Enthusiasm for Orchids: Sex and Deception in Plant Evolution by John Alcock
Cheers~
Maryanne

[Tindomul]

It looks like a duck, for real!! Wow!

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Maryanne

If you like this photo, you should read "An enthusiasm for Orchids" by John Alcock, on is trek aroudn Oz to find various spieces in the wild.
An Enthusiasm for Orchids: Sex and Deception in Plant Evolution by John Alcock
Cheers~
Maryanne

I'll second this recommendation, Maryanne. It's a great book if you're interested in the tricks orchids use to attract pollinators. What I really like about this book is that, as the writer is an entomologist rather than an botanist, it has a very strong focus on understanding the pollinator's role in pollinating orchids. It does help to have a few Australian orchid field guides next to you when reading it, though, as Alcock primarily uses common names for the orchids.

[pasojanice]

I have sent for the book. Looks really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation.

[RoseBaumann]

I so love the Flying Duck Orchid.

I have been lookign for one for about a year now.

[RosieC]

Love this, someone posted this image on my facebook page recently. Click on the photo to see the original web page it comes from which is about orchids that look like animals