New Zealand has 31 genera of Native Orchid, consisting of over 140 recognised species.
New species are being added to the list as various new varieties are confirmed.
A large amount of work still needs to be done to finally give an accurate list of them all.
Greenhood Orchids
These plants usually have an upright stem with 3 - 8 leaves, with the solitary flower positioned at the top of the stem. They are an orchid of forests and scrub. The two species Hymenochilus tanypodus & Hymenochilus tristis are the exception... they possess several small flowers and occur in high country tussock and grasslands.
The Greenhoods possess an intriguing technique for pollination of their flowers. They have a touch sensitive lip, which when touched by a small insect, flips backwards, and as such traps the unsuspecting insect within the flower. The only means of escape for the entrapped insect is to crawl over the stigma and through a small tunnel, then past the pollen to freedom. The lip usually resets itself after about half an hour, but of course the insect doesn't know this.
Sun Orchids
The Sun Orchids only open their flowers in full sun (hence the name), and even then some refuse to open. Their flowers are the most colourful of our orchids, ranging from white through pink, to deep blue. The flowers are 1-2cm wide. They have a single long thin leaf, with the flower stem emerging from the base of the leaf. Each plant can have from one to twenty flowers.
Most species of Sun Orchid prefer poor clay soils in open areas amongst scrub. They can also be found on roadside cuttings where they can get a foothold in the clay. Thelymitra cyanea is an exception, it grows mostly in swamps & wet areas. More species are found in the north of the country than in the south.
Spider Orchids
Spider Orchids are small shy plants, often found on damp banks or dark areas of the forest floor. They can form quite dense colonies that carpet the ground. They have a single oval shaped leaf close to ground level. The solitary flowers of many of the species have very long thin sepals, which give the plants their spider-like appearance. Most species flower from August to November.
Spider orchids include the genera: Nematoceras, Molloybas, Anzybas, Corybas, and Singularybas.
There are still a number of un-named species currently included within the Nematoceras trilobum aggregate... hopefully they will be sorted out soon to end the current confusion.
Petalochilus Orchids
The Petalochilus Orchids are very colourful, and have that distinctive orchid shape. They have a single hairy narrow leaf, with the flower stalk emerging from ground level. Flowers are usually solitary, or in pairs.
Previously known as Caladenia. They have recently been split into two different genera... Petalochilus and Stegostyla.
They are mostly an orchid of poor clay soils amongst scrub, and flower during spring to early summer in most districts, although flowering can occur as late as February in alpine areas.
Potato Orchids
Potato Orchids or Gastrodia are an epiparasitic genus that possess no leaves or chlorophyll at all. Instead they have a symbiotic association with a fungus, which is parasitic upon a host tree root. They send up a flowering spike which can be covered in up to 40 bell-shaped flowers. 4 species have been identified, but there are probably more.
The Potato orchids flower over summer, and are becoming quite common beneath exotic pine forests. They have been known to appear in traffic islands where pine-bark chips are used as a mulch... the seeds apparently coming along with the bark.
Epiphytic Orchids
The tree or epiphytic orchids are the most noticeable of our native orchids. They can be seen on the branches of trees in just about any native forest remnant throughout the country.
There are only eight species of epiphytic orchid, and none have large showy flowers. Winika cunninghamii has the largest at 2-3cm... while the flowers of Ichthyostomum pygmaeum are only 2.5mm across.
Fallen trees and branches are the best place to locate the four smaller species. The Bulb-Leaf Orchid (Adelopetalum tuberculatum) is confined almost solely to the upper branches of large forest trees. Earina species can occasionally be found growing upon rocks and banks.
Beard Orchids
The 3 species of Beard Orchid are all uncommon, with one (Calochilus aff. herbaceus) being very rare, but all are well worth looking hard for. Their hairy labella give them a very unique appearance. They possess a single long leaf and are very similar in general appearance to that of a Sun Orchid. The flowers usually open in succession, resulting in only one open flower per stem at a time.
The Brown and Red Beard Orchids prefer poor clay soils or pakihi, and are found mostly in the Rotorua - Taupo region, while the Copper Beard Orchid prefers wet soils along the edges of swamps, and is known only from Auckland northward. Flowering occurs in late spring.
Onion Orchids
The Onion Orchids consist of four known species. Microtis unifolia is a particularly abundant species that can be found everywhere from native grasslands to the cracks in street pavements, and even your backyard.
They have a single tubular leaf with the flower stem emerging from about
one-third the way up the leaf. Each flower stem has many small flowers about 5mm in size.
There needs to be further investigation into Microtis unifolia, as it appears there are a number of different taxa currently included within the Microtis unifolia aggregate.
Gnat Orchids
Gnat orchids are small orchids of forest and scrub. They have a single oval or heart-shaped leaf and usually 2-4 flowers. There are four known species. The Pixie Cap Orchid (Acianthus) is a winter flowering species found mostly under light scrub, and is quite common throughout the country.
The two species of Cyrtostylis are very similar in appearance to one another, and are very difficult to distinguish apart. They flower in early spring and are found in open areas amongst scrub. They are not uncommon in some districts.
The Creeping Forest Orchid is found only in damp mossy places amongst subalpine Beech forest. It is found from Mt Ruapehu southward. It is rare in the North Island, and uncommon in the South Island.
Leek Orchids
There are two types of leek orchid. The two small species (Corunastylis), and the four larger species (Prasophyllum). They have a single tubular leaf with a single flower spike covered in numerous small flowers.
The species of small leek orchid are found mostly amongst scrub and prefer poor clay soils. They flower from late summer through autumn.
Of the four larger species, one (Prasophyllum hectorii) is found solely in swamps, sometimes growing in open water. Whilst the Common Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum colensoi) is most commonly found amongst tussock-lands and open areas at higher altitudes, although it can occur as low as sea level in some areas. There are two other species which are currently un-named.
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
