Prasophyllum wallum
Prasophyllum wallum, commonly known as the wallum leek orchid, is a rare orchid found only in a small area of Queensland, Australia. It grows as a terrestrial, perennial herb with an underground tuber and a single tube-shaped leaf about 20–35 cm long and 7–10 mm wide. A flowering stem about 5–8 cm tall carries 12–18 greenish flowers with a white lip. The flowers are inverted, so the lip sits above the column. The plant can reach 20–40 cm in height when flowering and flowers appear in August and September.
The species was first formally described in 1991 by Robert Bates and David Jones from a specimen collected near Coolum. The name wallum refers to the wallum heathland habitat where this orchid lives.
Habitat: It grows in wallum habitats and nearby stabilized sand dunes between Hervey Bay and Coolum.
Conservation: Prasophyllum wallum is listed as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and under Queensland wildlife regulations. The main threats are habitat loss, unsuitable fire regimes, and illegal collecting.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:14 (CET).