Open Access

Stephen A. J. Bell

• Habitat details and population sizes are provided for six populations of the rare leafless saprophytic terrestrial orchid Cryptostylis hunteriana Nichols (family Orchidaceae) from the Wyong-southern Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales. The extent of potential habitat based on known sites on the Central Coast is examined in a regional context, and annual targeted surveys in similar habitat are suggested. Apart from a population of unknown size in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, no populations of Cryptostylis hunteriana are at present within conservation reserves on the Central Coast. The paucity of records in the region suggests that any information about ecology or habitat will be beneficial to conservation and management. Adoption of a landscape approach may be the most appropriate avenue to ensure long term conservation. Due to the limited records, the poor representation in reserves and the species' cryptic nature, assessment and survey of all known populations of Cryptostylis hunteriana in New South Wales should be undertaken, prior to a review of its current conservation status.