Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven  |  

Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven

Status: Critically Endangered on the EPBC Act list

The Wyong midge orchid 2 is a terrestrial orchid. It is similar to Corunastylis archeri but differs in having fewer, larger flowers, which are borne on a shorter inflorescence (1.4 cm long). The Wyong midge orchid 2 typically has 6-9 flowers, each approximately 6 mm in diameter. The flowers are green and cream in colour with deep maroon markings (NSW Scientific Committee 2012b; NSW OEH 2015a). The Wyong midge orchid 2 is confined to the one site at Charmhaven and two sites at Warnervale in the Shire of Wyong on the Central Coast of New South Wales (Payne 2014). The species has an extent of occurrence of 5 km² and an area of occupancy of 3 km² (Gibson 2014 pers. comm. cited in TSSC 2014dm). The species was first found on private property in 2012 at Charmhaven on a 1.6 ha site. This site has the largest subpopulation of the species (Payne 2014). Eleven plants were found at the site in 2012 and 26 were found at the site in 2014 (Payne 2014). At Warnervale a few individuals occur on private property and a single individual occurs on government land (Payne 2014).

Government evidence of impact of climate change:

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  • Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven

    Inappropriate fire regimes also pose a threat to native orchids (Duncan; 2012).