Facebook Pixel
Skip to content

Terrestrial Orchid Conservation

Terrestrial orchids are fascinating plants that depend on relationships with mycorrhizal fungi and pollinators to complete their life cycle.

Some Australian native terrestrial orchids are evergreen but most temperate species die back and lie dormant over summer, then re-shoot from an underground tuber the following autumn.

There are 76 native terrestrial orchid species currently listed as threatened under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act (2016); some of these species require ex situ conservation and translocation as part of an integrated plan to promote their recovery. Our research aims to ensure the long-term survival of ex situ collections of these Australian terrestrial orchid species and support translocation programs, where these are required.

These pages were compiled by Karen Sommerville
with editing by Amelia Martyn Yenson in 2018.