Chiloglottis cornuta
Common names
bird orchid, ant orchid
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Orchids
Flower colours
Green, Red/Pink
Detailed description
Terrestrial, glabrous herbs. Plant at flowering 40-100 mm tall, at fruit up to 300 mm tall, the mature fruiting capsule held well above the floral bract. Tubers ovoid. Stem erect, fleshy. Leaves 2–(3), usually closely spaced together, otherwise spreading, fleshy, petiolate, petioles short (5–10 mm long); lamina 30–100 × 10–30 mm, green, oblong, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic; apex acute to subacute, base cuneate to attenuate. Flowers 1–(2), erect, usually wedged between or just above leaves. Floral bract with long cylindric sheath; bract attached well below ovary, the intervening portion elongating as fruit ripens; lamina equal in length or greater than ovary, green, sometimes larger, giving the appearance of a third leaf. Perianth 15 mm tall, green, more or less fleshy. Sepals shortly tailed (caudate); dorsal sepal ovate-lanceolate; lateral sepals much narrower, more or less channelled. Petals slightly shorter again, ovate-lanceolate, erect to spreading. Labellum broadly to narrowly triangular, on irritable short claw; margins entire, calli dark green to reddish, more or less globose, with a mainly median/central distribution, two of the calli often forming inturned auricles near the base. Column elongate, erect, almost as long as lip, the foot ending in a transverse thickening; wing narrow to level of stigma, from there wider and extending almost to anther apex in a broad, usually incurved lobe. Anther terminal, apiculate, prominent, discoid, pollinia coherent, finely granular. Stigma prominent, discoid, rostellum small, median.
Similar taxa
Chiloglottis valida is a somewhat similar vagrant species to New Zealand. It is a much larger plant with dark green to almost brown green leaves and greenish-purple to purple-brown flowers. The labellum is ovate-cordate rather than broadly to narrowly triangular, and much more irritable. Chiloglottis valida is strictly insect-pollinated, and lacking its natural pollination vector rarely sets seed in New Zealand. Chiloglottis cornuta is predominantly selfing, so it freely produces capsules. Both species may be found growing together.
Distribution
Indigenous. New Zealand: North Island, South Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Chatham Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Campbell Island/Motu Ihupuku. Also Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania).
Habitat
Widespread in usually moist, partially shaded situations in lowland to montane (up to 1000 m a.s.l.) indigenous forest or shrubland, rarely fringing wetlands or found growin within mires and peat bogs. Rarely subalpine to alpine. Often found in plantation forestry, especially under pines where it may on occasion grow intermixed with Chiloglottis valida (D.L.Jones) Szlach.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
Simpliglottis cornuta (Hook.f.) Szlach.
Taxonomic notes
Miller & Clements (2014) show that the segregate genera Myrmechila and Simpliglottis proposed by Szlachekto (2001) and Jones & Clements (2005) should be reduced to synonymy within Chiloglottis. That treatment is followed here.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September–May
Fruiting
October–July
Propagation technique
Easily grown in a cool, moist, deep, well drained, gritty soil, mulched with well rotted pine needles and bark. Does better in dappled light than full sun. An attractive species which flowers readily in cultivation.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
cornuta: Knobbed
Manaaki Whenua Online Interactive Key
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CHICOR
Chromosome number
2n = 40
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Regional conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Otago” Jarvie S et al. (2024) report.
Otago: 2024 | Regionally Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Jones DL, Clements MA. 2005. Miscellaneous Nomenclatural Notes and Changes in Australian, New Guinea and New Zealand Orchidaceae. The Orchadian 15: 33–42.
Miller JT, Clements MA. 2014. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of Drakaeinae: Diurideae (Orchidaceae) based on DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region. Australian Systematic Botany 27: 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1071/SB13036.
Moore LB, Edgar E. 1970. Flora of New Zealand, Volume II. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Monocotyledones except Gramineae. Government Printer, Wellington, NZ. 354 p.
Szlachekto DL. 2001. Genera et Species Orchidalium 1. Polish Botanical Journal 46: 11–26.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (10 April 2007). Description adapted from Moore and Edgar (1970).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Chiloglottis cornuta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/chiloglottis-cornuta/ (Date website was queried)