Glossodia major
R.Br.
Common Waxlip, Blue Cockies, Parson-in-the-Pulpit, Wax-lip orchid
(c) Connor Margetts, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Connor Margetts
(c) Ralph Foster, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Toby Eccles, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Tuber, Root, Bulb
The tuber is traditionally roasted and eaten, though this harvesting method kills the plant.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It is normally in coastal heath and light forest. They grow up to 800 m altitude.
Australia*, Tasmania*,
How to Identify
A ground orchid with a thin wiry stem. It grows to about 30 cm tall. It has one hairy sword shaped leaf. This is 10 cm long by 2 cm wide. It is hairy on both surfaces and is often hugging the ground. The flower stalk is 30 cm long. There are 1-2 star shaped flowers. The flowers are purple and 4.5 cm across. They are white near the base and have two white patches.
How to Grow
Plants are grown from tubers. They can also be grown from seed. The seed are scattered around adult plants. Plants are very sensitive to overwatering. Plants flower more after fires.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Glossodia major, commonly known as the waxlip orchid, parson-in-the-pulpit, or purple cockatoo is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae, and is endemic to Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two purple to mauve flowers.
Notes
There are about 3 Glossodia species.
References (19)
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