by Andrea Louise Thomas Hastings microbiologist Robert Mitchell discovered something beautiful and unexpected during his COVID lockdown rambles in nearby nature reserves. It changed the future for local native terrestrial orchids. “I was just a curious person looking for things to photograph during lockdown and found these orchids. I discovered six new species,” he says. Tuber forming terrestrial orchids grow in cooler climates such as Victoria. They are not to be confused with epiphyte orchids which grow in trees and rocks in warm humid climate in places like Queensland. Because terrestrial orchids are fragile and hard to spot, Rob urges people…
Friday, September 11
