List of the orchids of Western Australia


Among the many wildflowers in Western Australia, there are around four hundred species of orchids.

Early identifications

One of the first botanists to study Western Australia was Archibald Menzies, aboard HMS Discovery, who explored King George Sound in 1791. Many of the samples were lost in the return to England, but those that did survive were documented in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, published by Robert Brown in 1810.
The first three orchids from Western Australia to be named were Caladenia menziesii, Caladenia flava, and Diuris longifolia.
In 1802 Robert Brown himself collected 500 specimens of flora from Western Australia, including:
In West Australian Orchids, Emily Pelloe described and illustrated an extensive survey. She provided an English text, paintings, and drawings for the amateur reader, a mixture of impression and scientific illustration of the genera.

Orchids of South Western Australia

Common nameGenusNo. species in southwest W.A.Remarks
Babe-in-a-cradleEpiblema1-
Beard orchidsCalochilus6
Blue orchidsCyanicula11
Bunny orchidsEriochilus6
Donkey orchidDiuris~36
Duck orchidsParacaleana13
Elbow orchidSpiculaea1
Enamel orchidsElythranthera2
Fairy orchidPheladenia1
Fire orchidsPyrorchis2also Beak orchids
GreenhoodsPterostylis~90
Hammer orchidsDrakaea10
Hare orchidLeporella1
Helmet orchidsCorybas4
Leafless orchidPraecoxanthus1
Leek orchidsPrasophyllum25
Mignonette orchidsMicrotis14also Onion orchid
Mosquito orchidsCyrtostylis5
Potato orchidsGastrodia1also Bell orchid
Pygmy orchidCorunastylis1
Rabbit orchidLeptoceras1
Rattle beaksLyperanthus1
Slipper orchidsCryptostylis1also Tongue orchid
South African orchidsDisa bracteata1introduced
Spider orchidsCaladenia125
Sugar orchidEricksonella1
Sun orchidsThelymitra37
Underground orchidsRhizanthella1

  • This table has its source as the Second Edition of Hoffman and Brown in 1992