Notes:
This orchid had not been seen since 2001 when 3 plants were
known. It was described by Jones in 2004 as a new Prasophyllum
species. So you can sense our excitement as we looked around the
only known site where these orchids grow. As usual when we were starting
to move back to the gate and leave, Mischa noticed the first plant.
We starting taking photos when I looked around an there was another plant
looking back at me. More photos! As we left we were very happy.
Four days later when we were passing the site again we thought a few more
photos would not hurt. As we pulled up across the road we saw that
the area the orchid grew in had been slashed. It was not the entire
reserve area just part of it, but it was the area the orchid grew
in. We could not believe it. We emailed a Tasmanian Orchid expert
to confirm our find and note that the area had been slashed - he knew all
about it as he had been told to go and photograph it himself and was there
the day after only to find slashed ground and a search of all the reserve
found no other orchids. It has been mooted that the reason for not
seeing the orchid in previous years may be due to the ad hoc nature of the
slashing program. No doubt this will be controlled in the future.
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