The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Gastrodia minor

Etymology

Gastrodia: belly tooth (flower centre)
minor: smaller

Common Name(s)

Gastrodia

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Gastrodia minor Petrie

Family

Orchidaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Orchids

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Endemic. North, South and Stewart Islands

Habitat

Lowland to montane (up to 1200 m a.s.l.). Usually in shrubland, often dominated by kahikatoa (Leptospermum scoparium J.R.Forst. et G.Forst.) or members of the manuka (Kunzea ericoides (A.Rich.) Joy Thomps.) complex. Also commonly seen within pine plantations and growing amongst Spanish heather (Erica lusitanica Ruldophi).

Features

Terrestrial, saprophytic, deciduous, fleshy, perennial herb lacking chlorophyll. Rhizome mycorrhizal, tuberous, rather swollen, short-lived, extensively branched, individual sections up to 40 x 10 mm, dull pale brown to brownish-black, sparsely clad in chartaceous scales, especially toward the active apex. Plant at flowering up to 300 mm tall. Stem 1.5-2 mm diameter, dark brown to brown-black, slender, rather brittle when fresh. Scale leaves chartaceous, few, small and widely spaced. Flowers up to 10, brownish-black, usually cleistogamous, unscented, erect to spreading, tubular, sparsely tuberculate toward base, tubercules paler in colour. Perianth 6-10 x 2-4 mm, lobes slightly thickened toward margins. Lateral sepals fused slightly above the gibbous base otherwise with their margins lying close together. Labellum 2.5-4 x 1.0-2.0 mm, white, narrow-oblong, membranous, not irritable, completely enclosed within floral tube (apex just visible in the open flowers) and mostly fused to it, thickened distally, margins narrow, slightly undulose, bearing two long median, cristate, pinkish white calli, apex yellow. Column very short, wing a minute, erect, process; anther terminal, erect and bending forwards, short, ellipsoid, operculate, filament scarcely pleated at the back, pollen breaking into angular granules; stigma basal, immediately below anther, ellipsoid, hollow; rostellum flap-like, positioned under anther.

Similar Taxa

Easily distinguished from the other New Zealand Gastrodia species by its much smaller size (upto 300 mm long), and fewer flowered (< 10), much narrower, smaller, mostly blackish-brown, tubular flowers that scarcely open (if at all). The perianth lobes are internally white, and the labellum distinctly yellow-tipped.

Flowering

November - March

Flower Colours

Black,Brown

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

A saprophytic species which should not be removed from the wild. Difficult to grow.

Threats

Not Threatened

Chromosome No.

2n = 40

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Minute seeds are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).

This page last updated on 29 Dec 2015