Plants of
South Australia
Dipodium roseum
Orchidaceae
Rosy Hyacinth-orchid,
Pink Hyacinth Orchid,
Christmas Orchid
Display all 9 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 22

Common names

Rosy Hyacinth-orchid

Pink Hyacinth Orchid

Christmas Orchid

Etymology

Dipodium from the Greek 'dis' meaning twice and 'podion' meaning a small foot, referring to the two stalks of the pollen masses. Roseum from Latin meaning rose-coloured, referring to the flower colour.

Distribution and status

Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in woodland and forest on poor sandy or rocky soils. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in Queensland. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Leafless terrestrial orchid to 90 cm tall with green to dark reddish stems. IInflorescence much shorter than the flowering stem with 15-50 pale pink flowers with small dark red spots. sepals and petals linear to elliptic and free from each other with their tips curved backwards. Labellum pink with dark lines and has three lobes with tips turned upwards. Centre lobe has a broad band of pink to mauve hairs. This species was previously included with D. punctatum and can be distinguish from it by having a broader band of hairs and striping on its labellum, smaller spots and much more recurved sepals and petals while D. punctatum lacks striping on its labellum, has much more pronounced spotting, and has flat or barely recurved sepals and petals. flowering between December and February. Fruits are brown papery ellipsoid capsule. Seeds are very small enclosed in a long narrow mesh-like casing.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between February and March. Collect plump capsules as they start to dry and turn brown. Pods will split and release the seeds quickly however and will require monitoring. To increase the chances of collecting mature pods it is recommended that a small breathable bag (ie. Organza) to be used to enclose the developing capsules. Place the capsules in a container that will hold fine seeds and leave to dry for a few weeks or until the capsule split. Then carefully hold the capsule and tap it gently to release the seeds. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice in an air tight container in a cool and dry place, refrigerator or liquid nitrogen.