Scientific Name: Glossodia major

Common Name: waxlip orchid

Family Classification (Clade): Monocots

Family: Orchidaceae

Form Description: Wax lip with a single, long, oblong to elliptical, dark-green leaf, hairy on both surfaces.

Height (m): 0.1 – 0.3

Flowers: 1-2 mauve to purple flowers (occasionally white); labellum white at the base and purple-tipped with yellow basal calli.

Fruit: Papery capsule

Municipality
Break O’DayBrightonBurnieCentral CoastCentral HighlandsCircular HeadClarenceDerwent ValleyDevonportDorsetFlindersGeorge TownGlamorgan-Spring BayGlenorchyHobartHuon ValleyKentishKing IslandKingboroughLatrobeLauncestonMeander ValleyNorthern MidlandsSorellSouthern MidlandsTasmanWaratah-WynyardWest CoastWest Tamar
Plant Communities
Dry Eucalypt ForestGrasslandHeath
Habitat Notes

Heathy and grassy open eucalypt forest, woodland, shrubland and heathland, usually on well-drained sandy soils and gravelly loams. Widely distributed and often abundant in the east and north-east, including Bass Strait Islands, including lowland areas up to 400m.

Site Tolerance

Dry, Exposed, Shady

Soil Tolerance

Loam, Nutrient-poor, Sandy, Well-drained

Frost Tolerance

Moderate

General Notes

Found in habitats where fires occur very frequently. Flowering increases significantly after fires and flowers tend to be larger. The flowers increase noticeably in size during the first few days after opening. There are localised populations with a high percentage of white flowers.

Propagation Calendar

  • Flowering Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Seed Collecting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sowing Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Cutting Month
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Propagation Method
Specialist Method

Seed Information

Seed Treatment Notes

Orchid seeds are very minute yellow, brown or blackish dust-like particles. Orchid seeds are produced within a capsule that splits at maturity and releases thousands to millions of seeds. Dispersed by wind and water and only germinate following infection of the embryo by a suitable mycorrhizal fungus. Very few seeds become mature plants. For more information see Jones, Wapstra, Tonelli, Harris (1999): The Orchids of Tasmania.