Scientific Name: x Phelodia tutelata
Common Name: hybrid waxlip orchid
Family Classification (Clade): Monocots
Family: Orchidaceae
Form Description: Narrowly elliptical, sparsely hairy obliquely erect leaf.
Height (m): 0.08 – 0.2
Flowers: Solitary purple-blue flower with a heart shaped labellum that has 2-4 basal calli and numerous shorter calli towards the apex.
Fruit: Papery capsule
Municipality
Plant Communities
Habitat Notes
Heathy and grassy open eucalypt forest and heathland. Very rarely seen. May occasionally be found where Pheladenia deformis and Caleana major occur. Curtis (1979) has recorded it from the north and north-east and it was also found on Schouten Is. in 1978.
Site Tolerance
Dry, Exposed, Moist, Shady, Waterlogged, Windy
Soil Tolerance
Clay, Fertile, Loam, Nutrient-poor, Poorly-drained, Sandy, Well-drained
Frost Tolerance
Tender
General Notes
A hybrid between Pheladenia deformis and Glossodia major. Both occur in fire-prone habitats and flower abundantly after fires. The hybrid is likely to be found in the first few years following a fire that stimulated flowering of the parent species. Flowering of x Phelodia tutelata appears to be stimulated by fire the previous summer.
Propagation Calendar
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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
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.