The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Corybas obscurus

Etymology

Corybas: helmet flower
obscurus: Usually taken to mean something that is 'unclear, uncertain, unknown, in doubt, doubtful, dubious, mysterious, hazy, vague, indeterminate, concealed, hidden'

Common Name(s)

Spider orchid

Current Conservation Status

2018 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

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

2016 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon

Authority

Corybas obscurus Lehnebach

Family

Orchidaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Orchids

Synonyms

None first described in 2016

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, Nelson Lakes district.

Habitat

A species of primarily beech southern beech forest (Fuscospora or Lophozonia, (Nothofagaceae)) or Kunzea / Leptospermum forest and scrub, where it grows in leaf litter. Collections have been made from an altitudinal range spanning 600–1000 m.

Features

Terrestrial herbs, 14–30 mm tall at flowering. Leaf distinctly petiolate, petiole 5.1–40.8 mm long; lamina reniform to cordiform, 5.8–18.2 × 9.6–26.7 mm; margin entire; apex mucronate with mucro 1.1–2.5 mm long. Flower solitary, held erect on a peduncle 2.0–7.8 mm long, floral bract triangular to sub-triangular when flattened, 2.3–7.7 × 1.5–4.0 mm; dorsal sepal dark red to dark maroon to black, arching over the labellum, concave to cucullate, narrow at the base and widely spathulate towards the tip, apex retuse to emarginated; lateral sepal linear-filiform, crimson to dark red, 11.7–20.6 mm long; petals similar to the lateral sepals but longer, 27.3–57.2)mm long; labellum mostly dark crimson to almost black with a pale green centre, auriculate at base, aperture 1.6–2.4 mm in diameter; lamina deflexed, ca. 10 mm wide, with a central groove formed by the inwards folding of the lamina, extending downwards almost to the lower margin and sunken pit formed at the point where the lamina bends, margin incurving, mostly entire but erose at the lower edge, inner surface of the labellum covered glandular trichomes. Ovary 3.0–8.4 mm long. Column 1.6 mm long, curved, retuse column wings at either sides of the stigma.

Similar Taxa

Morphologically similar to C. confusus in lip colour but differs by its short dorsal sepal firmly appressed against the upper margins of the labellum and reniform to cordiform leaf. It differs from C. trilobus by the overall non-transparent, dark maroon to black flower.

Flowering

October-November

Fruiting

November - December

Propagation Technique

Difficult - should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Lehnebach et al. (2016) assess this species using the New Zealand Threat Classification System as "At Risk / Naturally Uncommon". This decision has yet to be ratified by the Threat Listing panel.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 15 Aug 2016