The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has revealed that two new plant species that exist nowhere else in the world have risen from the ashes of the Mount Canobolas conservation area in Orange after the park was devastated by fire in 2018.
NPWS Ranger, Steve Woodhall said the results captured over several surveys were largely thanks to the efforts of local NPWS staff and volunteers of the Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society.
“More than 70 per cent of Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area was affected by an intense bushfire in February 2018,” Mr Woodhall said.
“While this fire impacted the community and the park heavily, two years later we have emerged with new knowledge about what exists in this unique ecosystem,” he said.
“Most exciting has been the identification of two new ground orchid species, the pink spider orchid (pictured) and the Canobolas leek orchid.”
Mr Woodhall said the Canobolas leek orchid hadn’t been seen since the last major fire in the area in 1982 and at that time it was an undescribed species.
“These new species are only known from Mount Canobolas,” he said.
“In total 79 new species have been recorded in the park including birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians invertebrates, plants and fungi.”
He said NPWS and the Orange Field Naturalists had put in over 1,200 volunteered hours to conduct spring and autumn fauna and vegetation surveys.
