Corybas vitreus
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 | Not Threatened
Brief description
Terrestrial, seasonal orchid. Leaves solitary, heart-shaped, distinctly mucronate. Flowers solitary, central portion mostly translucent (‘glass-like’).
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: North Island (southern), South Island.
Habitat
Locally common in beech forest (Fuscospora or Lophozonia (Nothofagaceae)) and Kunzea / Leptospermum schrubland / forest, usually growing in leaf litter at elevations between 600 to 1300 m.
Detailed description
Terrestrial herbs, 14–30 mm tall at flowering. Leaf distinctly petiolate, petiole 3.3–24.7 mm long; lamina cordiform, 3.3–14.1 × 7.8–19.6 mm; margin entire; apex mucronate with mucro 0.2–2.8 mm long. Flower solitary, held erect on a peduncle 0.7–8.1 mm long; floral bract triangular to widely deltoid when flattened, 1.8–6.8 × 1.3–3.2 mm; dorsal sepal pale green and less often with a few maroon streaks, concave to cucullate, arching over the labellum, narrow at the base and widely spathulate towards the tip, apex retuse to emarginated; lateral sepals linear-filiform, whitish to pale maroon, 12.0–26.7 mm long; petals similar to the lateral sepals but longer, 21.3–56.5 mm long; labellum lamina mostly translucent, less often with a few streaks of maroon, covered with short trichomes, auriculate at base, aperture 1.2–2.6 mm in diameter; lamina deflexed, c. 7 mm wide, with a central groove formed by the inwards folding of the lamina, extending downwards half way the labellum and sunken pit formed at the point where the lamina bends; lateral margin of the labellum incurving, entire, with a non-isometric dark maroon to purple band, lower margin translucent, straight and erose. Ovary 4.5–8.4 mm long. Column 1.8 mm long, straight, round wings flanking the stigma. Senescent flowers with apex of the dorsal sepal pressing against the labellum blocking access to the column.
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
Similar taxa
Corybas vitreus is morphologically close to C. walliae both having a similar overall pale coloured flower but C. vitreus differs from C. walliae by its translucent labellum lamina with a non-isometric, dark maroon to purple band along the lateral margin and straight translucent lower margin. Corybas vitreus is distinguished from C. trilobus by its broadly ovate flower in frontal view and emarginate to retuse dorsal sepal.
Flowering
September–October
Flower colours
Green
Fruiting
November – early January
Propagation technique
Difficult—should not be removed from the wild.
Threats
Not Threatened.
Etymology
corybas: Helmet flower
vitreus: Meaning ‘of glass or glassy’ as in transparent, glass-like and often green tinged
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 vitreus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/corybas-vitreus/ (Date website was queried)