Native Orchids

Overview

Prized for their exquisite flowers, orchids belong to the largest family of flowering plants in the world with more than 30,000 species identified. They are distributed in most countries and are especially prolific in tropical regions, where the majority of species grow on the trunks and branches of trees (epiphytic). In temperate regions, such as southern Australia, most orchids grow in the ground (terrestrial). They are pollinated in different ways including by native bees and wasps.

In Australia there are around 1900 orchid species with 90 per cent of these not found anywhere else in the world. A number of these also have some extremely specialised adaptations not seen elsewhere in the orchid family. For example, two species of native orchids spend their entire life-cycle underground, and many ground orchids from southern Australia have become so specialised that they deceive and lure the males of a single species of insect to their flowers to ensure pollination. This issue features three beautiful terrestrial, perennial orchids from across the continent.

Technical specifications

Issue date: 21 January 2025
Issue withdrawal date: 1 August 2025
Denomination: $1.50 x 3
Stamp & product design: Sharon Rodziewicz, Australia Post Design Studio
Paper: self-adhesive: Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phosphor/Blue PVA Stamp Paper (Tullis Russell Red Phos PSA (P55) 100gsm Stamp Paper
Printer: EGO
Printing process: Offset lithography
Stamp size (mm): 26 x 37.5
Minisheet size (mm): 170 x 80
Perforations: 14.6 x 13.86
Sheet layout: Module of 50 (2x25)
FDI postmark: Geraldton WA 6530
FDI withdrawal date: 18 February 2025

Stamps in this issue

$1.50 Cleopatra’s Needles Thelymitra apiculata

The exquisite purple and yellow Cleopatra’s Needles Thelymitra apiculata is native to the south-west of Western Australia, where it grows in shrubland and woodlands around Geraldton. Classified as rare or near threatened, this orchid reaches 20 to 25 centimetres in height.

The stamp photograph is by Jean and Fred Hort.

$1.50 Copper Beard Orchid Calochilus campestris

The Copper Beard Orchid Calochilus campestris is endemic to eastern Australia, growing in a range of habitats. Widespread in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, it is rare in South Australia and endangered in Tasmania. The green and red orchid grows from 35 to 60 centimetres and is named for its hairy purple labellum or “beard”.

The stamp photograph is by Melinda Eygelshoven.

$1.50 Tiger Orchid Diuris sulphurea

The bright yellow Tiger Orchid Diuris sulphurea grows in forest, woodland and grassland in all states except Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Like other species in the genus it is known as a donkey orchid, after its elongated, droopy, ear-like petals. It reaches 20 to 60 centimetres in height.

The stamp photograph is by Chris Ross.