Barb, so very happy to have seen the Queen of Sheba
John introduced me to Western Australia’s orchids over 20 years ago with the Pink Fairy Orchid. (Which still remains a favorite, and now we own one!) What he didn’t count on after we were married, that in his life partner he had created an orchid hunting monster. And why not? The orchid family is the largest plant family in the world with 25,000 species, but the greatest diversity of species is in only a few spots globally. (So, when I informed him we had to drive 3 hours north to see a rare and impossible to find orchid, I think he took it very well).
One of these is the biodiversity hotspot that is WA’s South West. The state is home to almost 400 orchid species, nearly three-quarters of which are endemic, meaning they don’t occur anywhere else. Of those, 77 are of conservation concern. (Out of the 400, we have seen over 70, so we have many more to go!).
One of the rarest is the Queen of Sheba, the holy grail for orchid people – yes, orchids have a people. We are an interesting bunch, but back to the orchid – the stunning northern Queen of Sheba orchid is only found in Western Australia & is listed as Near Threatened (Priority 2).
After 8 years and a few disappointments in our searches, I can finally say we’ve seen the Northern Queen of Sheba.
Our day started like any other orchid hunting day, enjoying the scenery, but not as much as I normally do, I was so focused to find this rare orchid!Near our hopeful destination, we found Verticordia..…we found smokebush……and some other unknown wildflowers…but I was starting to get impatient. Finally John spotted one! But it was only half opened! He spotted a second one, but again, it wasn’t fully opened. So we decided to get some lunch in Eneabba and come back when the sun had been on it longer. Not truly aware how much sun it takes to open up the Queen of Sheba, we could only hope.Finally, later in the day, another couple hunting for orchids just like us, found one that was opened. There she was, in all her colored glory! I took many photos as the day was so windy, I was sure none of them would turn out!
Just to give you and idea how windy it was, here is a movie:
A close up at orchid royalty.I sat on an ant filled ground, didn’t care, and just studied her. There is no other orchid in Australia quite like her!We were also happy to find the Arrowsmith Pansy Orchid.And another first for us, the Drooping Spider OrchidI didn’t want to leave her, but John threatened to go home without me, so we started the long drive home.Good spot to fill up the gas tank.Prices vary across the region, it’s good to have your own supply with you!Even though we had to leave, we were rewarded with a nice sky near some salt lakes, pretty enough to pause and take some photos.Pretty enough for a panorama.
