WA’s remarkable orchid diversity highlighted in new publication
Western Australia hosts 470 orchid species of the 28,000 found globally. The importance of efforts to protect these botanical treasures was the theme of a recent presentation by esteemed neuroscientist Professor Lyn Beazley AO in launching a new reference book produced by Friends of Jirdarup Bushland.
Nestled within the Jirdarup Bushland Precinct in Victoria Park, Kensington Bushland is a precious remnant of Perth’s original landscape. Within its 10.87 hectares of jarrah-banksia woodland, around 30 species of native orchids have been recorded — some familiar, some elusive, some unseen for decades and some only discovered here in recent years.
The new book Orchids of Jirdarup is both a celebration of the extraordinary orchids of Kensington Bushland and a lasting record of the plants that call this special place home. Through stunning photography, stories, scientific knowledge and community observations, it explores their diversity, beauty, habitats, seasons and the intricate relationships that allow them to survive, while recognising the deep cultural connection of the Whadjuk Noongar people.
The first survey of the Kensington Bushland by staff of the WA Herbarium in 1980 identified six orchid species. Friends of Jirdarup Bushland have continued to add to that list and update records as species are renamed or previous records have been reviewed. To date, 257 species have been recorded, including eight of trees, 24 orchids, and 16 reptiles.
Professor Beazley, a WA Park Ambassador, was Western Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2006 to 2013 and WA’s Australian of the Year in 2015.
“Such data is important if we are to lobby to protect our environment and monitor how it is changing as our climate changes,” she said. “Biodiversity isn’t ‘nice to have’, it is essential for our future.”
Professor Beazley also highlighted the achievements of conservation scientists at Perth’s King’s Park who have been in the news recently for their breakthrough efforts to save the rare and critically endangered Queen of Sheba orchid from the brink of extinction.
Found near the coast between Perth and Bunbury in south west WA there are thought to be fewer than 30 of these orchids in the wild, but a new laboratory-based cloning technique program is showing promising results.
Digby Growns, Senior Plant Breeder at Kings Park, played a pivotal role in this innovative program to rescue the Queen of Sheba orchid. His expertise in somatic embryogenesis has enabled the mass production of genetically identical clones from a single microscopic seed, which is crucial for the survival of this critically endangered species.
“Citizen data aids scientific groups tracking climate impacts, pollination networks, and rare species like the Queen of Sheba orchid,” he notes.
