{"id":738977,"date":"2026-06-15T23:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T23:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/738977\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T23:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T23:42:17","slug":"frankston-beer-microbiologists-orchid-hobby-is-helping-document-rare-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/738977\/","title":{"rendered":"Frankston beer microbiologist’s orchid hobby is helping document rare species"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is the middle of winter and Robert Mitchell is snapping photos of flora in Frankston.<\/p>\n

It is an obsession that started during Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns, in the warmer months, when this same reserve was in bloom.<\/p>\n

“I took up orchid hunting basically,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Some of the rare orchid species documented by Robert Mitchell. (Supplied: Robert Mitchell)<\/p>\n

Australia has about 1,800 native orchid species, and more than 400 are native to Victoria.<\/p>\n

The professional beer microbiologist posted his photos to the citizen scientist website iNaturalist, so the community could tell him what they were.<\/p>\n

Some could not be identified.<\/p>\n

Ever inquisitive, Mr Mitchell has worked with agencies like the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria over the years to get official permits, gather samples and undertake DNA analysis.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Robert Mitchell’s interest in orchids has resulted in him uncovering new species. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n

Long story short, his persistence paid off.<\/p>\n

“I basically discovered all these new species that people weren’t able to recognise,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s quite cool.”<\/p>\n

Fragile flowers a chance find<\/p>\n

While there are hundreds of native orchid species, they are fragile, and many are found nowhere else on the planet.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chris Russell says citizen science is crucial for documenting orchids. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria director and chief executive Chris Russell said many of the state’s orchids could disappear.<\/p>\n

“They are exquisitely beautiful plants, very delicate and need very specific growing requirements,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Half of the 400 terrestrial Victoria orchids are at risk of extinction, so they are a very threatened group.”<\/p>\n

So, to uncover new species is exciting for scientists.<\/p>\n

And Mr Mitchell used his scientific background to write a newly published paper on the flowers, naming three.<\/p>\n

Each species has a scientific name that hints at what Mr Mitchell saw in the bloom.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Thelymitra serpentina is among the new species named by Robert Mitchell. (Supplied: Robert Mitchell)<\/p>\n

“The first is Theltymitra serpintina,” he said.<\/p>\n

“A very tall sun orchid. It sort of looks like a snake head.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rare orchid Thelymitra asperifolia is defined by its rough surface. (Supplied: Robert Mitchell)<\/p>\n

“The next is Thelymitra asperifolia. Asprey means rough, and folia means leaf. So this has this micro abrasive surface.”<\/p>\n

And finally, his favourite.<\/p>\n

“Thelymitra aurorae, that is named for my favourite artist, the Norwegian artist Aurora,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The flower kind of resembles her in flower terms.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Thelymitra aurorae has been likened to Norwegian musician Aurora. (Supplied: Robert Mitchell)<\/p>\n

“It has these blue spots and she has blue eyes, and it has these pink trichomes, and she has these streaks of pink make up.”<\/p>\n

The scientific world hopes more can be found soon.<\/p>\n

Citizen scientists are ‘eyes and ears on the ground’<\/p>\n

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Victoria has the biggest orchid conservation program in the world.<\/p>\n

Mr Russell said the flowers that have been recognised can now be nurtured and protected.<\/p>\n

“It is a group of plants that is highly vulnerable, so identifying flowers is essential,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Citizen scientists are really expert naturalists. They are the eyes and ears on the ground to observe change over time, observe new plants.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Experts say the work of citizen scientists is an invaluable resource in conservation. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n

Mr Mitchell is committed to recording and conserving the delicate plants.<\/p>\n

He walks the same areas multiple times a week in warmer months, and monthly in winter.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got these natural reserves that have amazing plants and animals out there,” he said.<\/p>\n

“You never know what you might come across.<\/p>\n

“That’s the new approach to science, just get out there, and hopefully we can prevent [things] from going extinct.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is the middle of winter and Robert Mitchell is snapping photos of flora in Frankston. It is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[64,63,51779,13617,29394,171483,128482,8212,356782,128],"class_list":["post-738977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-citizen-science","tag-frankston","tag-inaturalist","tag-native-orchids","tag-orchids","tag-photography","tag-royal-botanic-gardens-victoria","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}