Diuris amabilis
Large Golden Moth at Bungendore, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Diuris amabilis | 1 Oct 2024 | MattM | ||
| Diuris chryseopsis | 1 Oct 2024 | Tapirlord | ||
| Diuris chryseopsis | 1 Oct 2024 | CarbonAI | ||
| Diuris chryseopsis | 1 Oct 2024 | Csteele4 |
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User's notes
Great to see the burning last year cleared the way for these!
4 comments
MattM
wrote:
1 Oct 2024
I believe these are Diuris amabilis based on the darker yellow/orange in the centre of the labellum. Additionally these plants are beginning to flower and still have buds, whereas the D. chryseopsis in the Canberra region have pretty much finished flowering.
Csteele4
wrote:
1 Oct 2024
@MattM respectfully, I've checked both Lachlan Copeland's book and the more recent book Native Orchids of Australia, as well as PlantNet, and the features and flowering period of these plants match D chryseopsis. Canberra flowering periods are generally 2-3 weeks ahead of Bungendore and the surrounding region (spoken with 7 years of experience). These also lack the orange labellum which is present in D amabilis, though both books do reference hybridisation between the two species. I've added a photo which better illustrates the small size of the flower.
I'll confer with Lachlan, but I'm confident in mine and Ciaran's ID of D chryseopsis.
I'll confer with Lachlan, but I'm confident in mine and Ciaran's ID of D chryseopsis.
MattM
wrote:
3 Oct 2024
I do agree these are on the smaller side, however plants do vary in size. I can still see the orange in your additional photos so I still wouldn't rule out D. amabilis. I would also like to point out that that reserve is a bit of a local hotspot for D. amabilis, and while typically they have been recorded flowering mid to late October (see Diuris amabilis (Large Golden Moth)), they have been recorded flowering in late September (see Diuris amabilis (Large Golden Moth)).
Tapirlord
wrote:
4 Oct 2024
From checking the reference material I'm sure how readily we can actually separate these two from photographs. Having compared a number sources I just don't see that colour is a discerning trait, it seems instead to be based largely upon flowering and plant dimensions. I'm not going to weigh in on the relative flowering times of the Bungendore/Canberra areas, but I do think Matt makes a good point about Turallo being a hotspot for D.amabilis. I've recorded it there myself may a week after this sighting was taken a couple years ago and there's a rich history of records including at least one collection I believe. I'm happy for Matt's ID to stand.
Location information
- Maps Turallo Nature Reserve
- Places Bungendore, NSW
Sighting information
- 15 Abundance
- Csteele4 Recorded by
- 10cm to 30cm Plant height
- Yes In flower
Collections
Species information
- Diuris amabilis Scientific name
- Large Golden Moth Common name
- Sensitive
- Rare or uncommon native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 826m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
-
Synonyms
Diuris behrii
Seasonal activity
-
Was the plant in flower?
JFMAMJJASOND
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species