A flower without leaves

[Thisica]

I have a flower growing just under the olive tree which had no leaves on it. What's going on? [The flowers resemble an orchid, though.]

 

[Blackmail!]

Can you post a picture of it? Where are you located?

Many orchids don't possess leaves (they're saprophytic), but it could also be something completely different, like a Broomrape (and hence a parasitic plant).

 

[Phantonym]

Indeed, a picture would be of help. Some species grow flowers long before any leaves emerge. And some species grow leaves during spring and start blooming during autumn, since you are from Australia.

 

[PuddleRiver]

I have one like that. It's called a "Magic Lily". I don't know if it's the same thing, though. Mine's already up through the ground; it has foliage something like daffodils, seems to die and weeks later puts up flower stalks with no foliage whatever.

Anything like that?

 

[Blackmail!]

I have one like that. It's called a "Magic Lily". I don't know if it's the same thing, though. Mine's already up through the ground; it has foliage something like daffodils, seems to die and weeks later puts up flower stalks with no foliage whatever...and looks somewhat orchid-like.

Once again, a picture would help us to identify this "Magic Lily"!

 

[Thisica]

Here it is...with the stem going towards the bottom left-hand corner.

 

[Blackmail!]

Its Lycoris squamigera, a japanese member of the Amaryllis family.

It's not related to orchids at all.

 

[Thisica]

Just as we suspected [except me].

The flowers are currently decaying away.

 

[Blackmail!]

Nonetheless, here are some leafless saprophytic orchids, just if you need a comparison:

Galeola (here G. septentrialis), one of the most spectacular genus

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Neottia nidus-avis (Bird's nest), common in Europe

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Limodorum abortivum, very nice orchid but unfortunately rather rare

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And under the tropics, you have Polyrrhiza lindenii, the Ghost orchid. It's not a saprophyte but rather, since it's an epiphyte, its green aerial roots replace the function of leaves.

 

[iwakar]

And under the tropics, you have Polyrrhiza lindenii, the Ghost orchid. It's not a saprophyte but rather, since it's an epiphyte, its green aerial roots replace the function of leaves.

That's lovely.