Orange naturalists release field guide to the stunning native orchids of the Central West

“Most people don't sort of recognise that there are orchids in the region at all, much less 137 of them!” says local naturalist Dr Colin Bower who is hoping a new book written with friend and colleague Dr Richard Medd will go a long way towards changing that.

Their book, Orchids of Central Western NSW - Identification, Biology and Conservation the first comprehensive guide to the native orchids of the Central West. One-hundred-and-thirty-seven species and three hybrids are described and illustrated in the guide along with high-quality photographs for ease of identification.
Dr Bower, a retired entomologist, and Dr Medd, an agricultural scientist, have both had a long fascination with natural history and have spent a lot of their spare time over many years searching for and photographing orchids and other native plants throughout the Central West and beyond.

“There is so much about the orchid that is fascinating,” says Dr Medd. “They are very charismatic, they're beautiful plants, exquisite flowers, but more than anything it’s their evolutionary tricks…. they have evolved fascinating mechanisms to ensure that the pollen of one species lands in the right place in the right address.”

One such evolutionary trick common to orchids in this region is that they are able to mimic insects, both physically and chemically, in order to propagate.

“About 80 per cent of the orchids in the region actually trick their pollinators into pollinating them,” explains Dr Bower, who has travelled all over the east coast of Australia studying orchids and their pollinators.

“They mimic female insects and admit odours, the sex pheromones that attract males and the orchids are pollinated when the males attempt to mate with the flower.”

But orchids have extraordinarily complex life cycle requirements that can only be met by intact natural habitats, says Dr Medd.

“Like a lot of native flora in natural areas, there's pressure on them from all sorts of angles and they're disappearing in the landscape,” he says.

“So one of the main aims of the book is to draw attention to the fact that these beautiful plants exist and that they're under threat because they're not well conserved.”

Dr Medd and Dr Bower will be launching their book, Orchids of Central Western NSW - Identification, Biology and Conservation at Orange City Library at 5.30pm, October 17. All are welcome to come and meet the two authors. Signed books will be available for cash purchase. Booking is essential through Eventbrite.com or contact the library on 6393 8132.