Black Fire Orchid

~ Pyrorchis nigricans ~

ORCHIDACEAE

The Black Fire Orchid, also known as the Undertaker Orchid, has a penchant for the hot flames of a summer bushfire, which give it cause to emerge the subsequent spring (aka pyrogenic flowering). Curiously, it’s mostly known for its melodramatic death: it shrivels up into a jet-black, charred-looking corpse. Although it has seemingly macabre tendencies, it has chosen some of the prettiest places on Earth to call home. Like most Orchids, Pyrorchis nigricans has a symbiotic relationship with Mycorrhizal Fungi that assists it in germination, nutrient absorption and immunity, so it may be difficult to cultivate (see p. 3).

WHERE TO LOOK

The Fire Orchid is widespread in the southern states in coastal rainforest, heaths, woodlands and Eucalypt forests. It sits on the mid-eastern coastline of New South Wales around Fingal Bay, through the Victorian coastline and the Grampians, over to South Australia around the Mount Lofty Ranges, and from Esperance up to Shark Bay in Western Australia. It can also be seen along the north coastline of lutruwita (Tasmania) and on the larger Bass Strait islands.

Locations → Victoria: Baluk Willam Reserve and Anglesea Heath; SA: Mount Billy Conservation Park and Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park; WA: West Cape Howe National Park.

FEATURES

The Fire Orchid’s single fleshy oval leaf measures 2–12cm long and 2–8cm wide. It features reddish margins and lies flat on the ground and, for most of the year, is the only indicator the plant exists. The flowers are 2–3cm, white and red, with reddish-brown stripes creating their prominent colour. They contain a beak-shaped hood arching over the fringed labellum and sit in groups of two to eight along a thick 5–30cm long stem. The fruit, like most Orchids, is a papery capsule containing thousands of dust-like black seeds.

FLOWERING SEASON

Spring → Flowering is generally around August to November if the plant experienced a fire the previous summer, though some populations can also flower without fire.