Corybas obscurus
Common name
spider orchid
Synonyms
None first described in 2016
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.
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: DP
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: 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.
Detailed description
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, c. 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.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
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
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’
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (13 August 2016). Description from Lehnebach et al. (2016)
References and further reading
Lehnebach CA, Zeller AJ, Frericks J, Ritchie P. 2016. Five new species of Corybas (Diurideae, Orchidaceae) endemic to New Zealand and phylogeny of the Nematoceras clade. Phytotaxa 270(1): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.270.1.1.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Corybas obscurus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/corybas-obscurus/ (Date website was queried)