Rhizanthella gardneri, commonly known as western underground orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a herb that spends its entire life cycle, including flowering, at or below the soil surface. A head of up to 100 small reddish to cream-coloured, inward facing flowers surrounded by large, cream-coloured bracts with a horizontal rhizome is produced between May and July.
Rhizanthella gardneri
Rhizanthella, commonly known as underground orchids, is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia. All are leafless, living underground in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi. The inflorescence is a head of flowers held at, or just above the ground but mostly covered by soil or leaf litter and little is known about the mechanism of pollination.
Rhizanthella