Nematoceras panduratum
Common name
spider orchid
Synonyms
Corysanthes rotundifolia var. pandurata Cheeseman
Family
Orchidaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Orchids
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – an interim threat classification status has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017 . 2018. Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley. Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Data Deficient
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island.
Habitat
Lowland. Confined to wet, shaded sites within tall indigenous forest. Usually found along stream sides, but also on seepages on cliff faces and within talus slopes.
Detailed description
Colonial, terrestrial, tuberous, glabrous, late winter to summer-green herb. Tuberoids globose to ellipsoid on extended roots. Plant at flowering to 40 mm tall. Leaf solitary (rarely paired), fleshy, subsessile or with a short petiole 5–10 mm long; lamina 20–30 × 15–25 mm long, oval- to orbicular-pandurate, apiculate, rounded to cordate at base; dark green to yellow green, margins and sometimes whole of upper surface flecked with purple or red, underside silvery pellucid. Flower erect, mostly large for plant, (15)–20–(25) mm long, held well above leaf, mostly dark crimson black; peduncle short and stout, 2.5–3.5 mm long. Ovary 8.5–10.0 mm long, narrowly oblong to ellipsoid, yellow-green, erect or slightly curving forward over leaf; subtended by two unequal floral bracts, the smaller projecting toward leaf, 1.5–2.0 mm long, linear-subulate to lanceolate-subulate, terete, pale green to cream, spotted or flecked with crimson, the larger smaller than, equal to or exceeding the ovary, (2.5)–8.8–(11.0) mm long, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, curved, deeply keeled and mostly closely sheathing ovary for about ⅓–½ of length, apex acute, green, usually with purple or reddish striae or flecks. Dorsal sepal membranous, more or less equal to labellum length 15–20 mm long, greenish with purple-red crimson-black striate or flecks, lanceolate-acuminate, apex acute, erect then arched forwards, or downwards, very rarely upwards. Lateral sepals and petals subsimilar, 20–30 mm long, filiform, greatly exceeding labellum, cream to yellow green more or less flecked with red, held well above leaf. Labellum conspicuous, dark crimson-black, auriculate at base; labellum tube 1.5–3 mm long, erect at first then abruptly deflexed at c. 90 degrees and expanding into a gradually broadening lamina; lamina (15)–20–(25) × (6)–10–(16) mm, narrowly obtuse when flattened, upper margins sharply folded inwards, upper third to half more or less overlapping, lower surface spreading and deeply grooved; apex usually held well above leaf; margins initially entire, becoming erose to finely and irregularly denticulate on either side, and with a short to moderately long down-curved apiculus; apiculus not or only rarely touching leaf.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Similar taxa
Very doubtfully distinct from Corybas rivularis from which it only seems to differ by its consistently pandurate leaf. The pandurate leaf was the only distinction offered by Cheeseman (1925) in his protologue.
Flowering
September–November
Flower colours
Black, Red/Pink
Fruiting
October–December
Propagation technique
Difficult—should not be removed from the wild.
Etymology
panduratum: Fiddle-shaped
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
TAXONOMIC NOTES
Considerable research is underway to investigate the validity of the segregate genera split from Corybas R.Br. by Jones et al. (2002). Whilst much of that work has yet to be published, on advice from Australian Orchidologists Peter Weston and Stephen Hopper (pers. comm., July 2011, November 2014), all of the segregate genera recognised for New Zealand by Jones et al. (2002) are returned to Corybas. An exceptions is Nematoceras Hook.f., for which valid combinations for some of the taxa recognised within it (and regarded here as distinct species), have yet to be made in Corybas.
Note that this orchid does not have a valid combination in Corybas. It is also doubtful as to whether it is a valid species or merely an infrequnely occurring mutation in Corybas rivularis sens. str. No combination was provided for it by Lehnebach (2016) suggesting that he too doubts the validity of recognising this as a distinct species.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 14 April 2007. Description based on herbarium specimens and live material.
References and further reading
Jones DL, Clements MA, Sharma IK, Mackenzie AM, Molloy BPJ. 2002. Nomenclatural notes arising from studies into the Tribe Diurideae (Orchidaceae). The Orchadian 13(10): 437–468. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/61852896#page/5/mode/1up.
Lehnebach C. 2016. New combinations and a replacement name for three New Zealand spider orchids (Corybas). The New Zealand Native Orchid Journal 139: 4–5.