Pink beaks

Description

Pyrorchis forrestii, commonly known as pink beaks, is a species of orchid endemic to Western Australia. It has two or three ground-hugging leaves and up to seven sweetly perfumed, pink and white flowers, but it only flowers after fire the previous summer. Pyrorchis forrestii is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and two or three ground-hugging, egg-shaped, light green leaves. The leaves are leathery, 35–70 mm (1–3 in) long and 20–35 mm (0.8–1 in) wide. Up to seven sweetly perfumed flowers are arranged on a flowering stem 100–300 mm (4–10 in) high. The flowers are pink and white, 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long and 25–30 mm (0.98–1.2 in) wide and sometimes have red spots. The dorsal sepal is narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 17–20 mm (0.7–0.8 in) long and 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide. The lateral sepals are similar to the dorsal sepal but narrower and turn downwards and away from each other. The petals are a similar size and shape to the lateral sepals. The labellum is egg-shaped with the narrower end towards its base, 13–16 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide and has three lobes. It is white with red lines and has fine teeth on its edges. Flowering occurs from October to December but only after fire the previous summer. Pyrorchis forrestii grows in winter-wet flat areas between Augusta and Albany in the Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions. Pink beaks was first formally described in 1810 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Lyperanthus forrestii and published the description in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae. In 1994 David Jones & Mark Clements changed the name to Pyrorchis forrestii. The specific epithet (forrestii) honours John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia. Pyrorchis, commonly known as beak orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia. It contains two species which were previously included in the genus Lyperanthus, also known as beak orchids. Both species have fleshy, oval leaves and form colonies which flower profusely after bushfires. Pyrorchis forrestii is only found in the south-west of Western Australia between Augusta and Waychinicup National Park where it grows near the margins of swamps or near creeks.