Nearly five years of waiting: Phaius australis premiere

Phaius australis 1 by Eike Jauch

This Phaius has a very special story. I obtained three seedlings of Phaius australis in May 2015. The parental plant grows in a botanical garden, but I could not find out in which one. Upon unpacking the seedlings which were sent barerooted I was shocked. The seedlings looked too bad, and I had no experience in growing Phaius seedlings at all. My wife and I planted them in sphagnum moss and started praying. The first died, the second died … only the third seedling was not that much damaged that it was doomed to die. It grew bit by bit, and all the years we were afraid to loose the plant. But most Phaius are quite tough … this is also true for Phaius australis. Yesterday the first flower opened on the 1,30 m inflorescence, and we felt like real proud parents.

Phaius australis 2 by Eike Jauch

For a long time Phaius australis was regarded as an independant Phaius species. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, a German-Australian botanist and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, first described this Phaius in the first volume of his Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae in 1858. Only recently it was reduced to varietal status by Philipp Cribb: Phaius tankervilleae var. australis. It is said to be self-fertilizing and in this respect resembles Phaius antoninae. To my opinion a self-fertilizing Phaius should be considered to be an independant species, as sexual isolation by self-fertilization is considered to be a driver of speciation. Phaius australis F. Muell 1858 is endemic to Queensland and New South Wales and is heavily endangered. The shown plant resembles those Phaius australis found in New South Wales. I will therefore focus on propagating this rare species.

I am amazed about the very special coloration pattern the lip shows. And I am happy that my plant shows the yellowish venation of sepals and petals. It is not seen on all Phaius australis. And I love the fine fragrance of Phaius australis – it is the best I have smelled so far among Phaius.

Phaius australis 3 by Eike Jauch