Cinnamon Bells

About

Gastrodia sesamoides, commonly known as cinnamon bells or common potato orchid in Australia and as the pot-bellied orchid or cinnamon sticks in New Zealand, is a leafless, terrestrial saprophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has a thin, fleshy brown flowering stem and up to twenty five drooping, brownish, self-pollinating flowers that are white inside. Growing in a wide range of habitats, it is native to Australia and New Zealand.

How to spot it

Gastrodia sesamoides is a leafless, terrestrial saprophyte with an underground rhizome up to 80 mm (3 in) long and 30 mm (1 in) in diameter. The thin, fleshy brown flowering stem is 12–75 cm (5–30 in) tall with between three and six bracts 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and between three and twenty five flowers. The flowers are cinnamon brown to greyish brown and often rough on the outside, white inside with the sepals and petals joined to form a bell-shaped tube 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long. Each flow

Documented on these trails

Found in

• Morialta Conservation Park — Adelaide, the Hills & Fleurieu Peninsula hikes