It is more common on the North rather than South Island where it is currently (October) in flower:
Drymoanthus adversus or the "green fleshy tree orchid" is much more exciting than either of its names suggest! This wonderful, delicate orchid is rather small, with leaves usually only numbering 2 or 3 that grow to around 6 centimetres in length. It is a close friend of flaky-barked host trees like tōtara and can often be found holding tight with fleshy white roots. It is more common on the North rather than South Island where it is currently (October) in flower: The green or greenish-white flowers of Drymoanthus adversus occur in bunches (inflorescences) that can be up to 8 cm long and usually sit just beneath the leaves. The flowers are only 4 mm it width and have purplish flecks. Sometimes you can find the stalks of old flower bunches still on the plants. Pollinated flowers develop into capsules that enclose many thousands of seeds with curled, woolly hairs. Everything about this species makes it hard to spot, especially if its host is also home to a lot of moss and lichen. Individual Drymoanthus adversus plants can occasionally create large clumps with many leaves: The NZ Native Orchid Group have some great photos of this species on their website. Here are a few more of ours: Feel free to share any of your own photos of this neat little plant, or maybe suggestions for a better name than "fleshy, green tree orchid"?!
3 Comments
Kirsty Myron
10/12/2014 03:08:33 pm
Oh woah great photos! When did you take them?
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9/1/2016 01:37:55 am
It's a pity that the lead photo at the top of this blog is not Drymoanthus adversus but Ichthyostomum (Bulbophyllum) pygmaeum which is much much smaller. The rest of the photos all seem to be good shots of the Drymoanthus.
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Catherine
10/1/2016 12:02:17 pm
Great spotting Nigel! That is indeed Bulbophyllum at the top. It is the banner photo for the blog webpage though, not specific to the Drymoanthus blog. You'll see that it stays the same for every blog post :) Thanks for reading!
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Catherine KirbyI work with NZ's native vascular epiphytes at the University of Waikato. I completed an MSc on epiphyte ecology and the shrub epiphyte Griselinia lucida and have recently published the Field Guide to NZ's Epiphytes, Vines & Mistletoes. Categories
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