New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
  • Member login
  • Join
Facebook
  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
    • Non Vascular
    • Plant identification
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
    • Pest Animals
    • Other threats
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
    • Training
    • Restoration
    • Monitoring
    • Habitat protection
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
    • David Given Scholarship
    • Members
    • Council members
    • Awards
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us

Search flora

You are here:
  1. Home
  2. Flora
  3. Flora species
  4. Corybas cryptanthus

Corybas cryptanthus

Omoana on 3/12/97.<br>Photographer: Eric Scanlen, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
The rare alba form, Omoana 3/9/05.<br>Photographer: Eric Scanlen, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Download PDF Comment on factsheet

NZPCN members can select up to 20 plant species and automatically create a full colour, fully illustrated A4 book describing them (in PDF format).

  • Find out more...
  • Join NZPCN...
Find in plant lists
iNaturalist NZ View observations Donate Support NZPCN

Common name

hidden spider orchid, icky

Synonyms

Corybas saprophyticus Hatch; Corysanthes cryptantha (Hatch) Szlach.; Molloybas cryptanthus (Hatch) D.L.Jones et M.A.Clem.

Family

Orchidaceae

Authority

Corybas cryptanthus Hatch

Flora category

Vascular – Native

Endemic taxon

Yes

Endemic genus

Yes

Endemic family

No

Structural class

Orchids

Chromosome number

2n = 34

Current conservation status

  • Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017

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). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By 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.

2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: Sp

Previous conservation statuses

2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon

2004 | Not Threatened

Distribution

Endemic. Three Kings, North and South Islands

Habitat

Coastal to montane. In dense shrublands and tall forest. Confined to deep, partially decomposed leaf litter where it is easily overlooked except when fruiting. Current records suggest a preference for growing under kanuka (Kunzea ericoides (A.Rich.) Joy Thomps.) and Nothofagus Blume stands. It often grows with Corybas cheesemanii (Hook.f. ex Kirk) Kuntze.

Features

Saprophytic, rhizomatous, subterranean, orchid lacking chlorophyll and flowering usually buried within leaf litter, only rarely with flowers exposed. Fruiting stem greatly elongated, exposed and held well above the ground. Rhizomes, stems, and flowers hyaline white, usually flecked with red, purple or brown, rarely without any colour. Tubers scarcely evident, minute, globose, partially obscured by leaf-scales. Rhizomes horizontal, extensive, succulent, without roots, frequently and laxly branched, buried within leaf mould and litter, up to 1 mm diameter and 100-120 mm long. Leaves reduced to minute deltoid scales spaced at about 10 mm intervals along rhizome, the one at the base of the flower stem usually broadly ovate and larger. Flowers solitary. Floral bract > to » ovary. Perianth usually hyaline white to pale pink, more or less streaked with red or purple, sometimes completely white. Dorsal sepal 10-14 mm long, narrow-lanceolate, acuminate; lateral sepals longer than dorsal sepal and labellum, filiform, often protruding from leaf litter. Petals similar to lateral sepals but distinctly shorter. Labellum up to 15 mm long, auriculate at base, the margins meeting behind the column and touching for about half the labellum length, central portion much thickened and papillose, the distal portion greatly expanded, more or less deflexed, usually not abruptly but sometimes so, with the free margin upturned, coarsely and abundantly laciniate, laciniae sometimes branched, margins finely ciliate. Fruiting capsule ovoid, hyaline, flecked with red or purple; terminal on a greatly expanded, erect stem up to 280 mm tall; capsule initially down-turned, at maturity either horizontal or erect.

Similar taxa

Extremely distinctive - the saprophytic, subterranean growth habit, succulent, wide-spreading and branching rhizome, absence of chlorophyll, greatly reduced scale-like leaves and minute tubers, and the distinctive translucent almost crystalline flower with the coarsely toothed labellum apex readily separate this species from all other indigenous orchids. Because of its growth habit this species is easily overlooked, and it is most often found when in fruit. Because it often grows in the same habitats as Corybas cheesemanii which may also have its leaves buried within leaf litter it is easily overlooked. From C. cheesemanii it is easily distinguished by the absence of chlorotic leaves, and by the fruiting capsule which when it emerges is down-turned not erect, and at maturity is mostly held horizontally. The fruiting stem of Corybas cryptanthus is translucent-hyaline and usually red or purple flecked, that of Corybas cheesemanii is white and opaque.

Flowering

June - October

Flower colours

Red/Pink, White

Fruiting

October - April

Propagation technique

As a saprophytic species this orchid is virtually impossible to cultivate. It should not be removed from the wild

Threats

Not Threatened but probably warrants listing as sparse

Etymology

corybas: Helmet flower

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 Clements 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 (see also Garnock-Jones 2014; Lyon 2014).

Attribution

Fact Sheet by P.J. de Lange (1 January 2005). Description adapted from Moore and Edgar (1970)

References and further reading

Garnock-Jones PJ. 2014: Evidence-based review of the taxonomic status of New Zealand’s endemic seed plant genera. New Zealand Journal of Botany 52: 163-212.

Jones, D.L.; Clements, M.A.; Sharma, I.K.; Mackenzie, A.M.; Molloy, B.P.J. 2002: Nomenclatural notes arising from studies into the Tribe Diurideae (Orchidaceae). The Orchadian 13: 437-468.

Irwin, J.B. 1954. Corybas saprophyticus. Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin 27:22-23

Lyon, S. P. 2014: Molecular systematics, biogeography, and mycorrhizal associations in the Acianthinae (Orchidaceae), with a focus on the genus Corybas. PhD Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison. USA.

Moore, L.B.; Edgar, E. 1970: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. II. Government Printer, Wellington.

Whitaker, T. 1957. Corybas cryptanthus (saprophyticus). Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin 29: 3

NZPCN Fact Sheet citation

Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Corybas cryptanthus Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/corybas-cryptanthus/ (Date website was queried)

▲ Back to top
  • Home
  • Flora
  • Threats
  • Ecosystems
  • Publications
  • Conservation
  • NZPCN
  • Help
  • Contact us

© 2023 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network • Website by RS

Coastlands Plant Nursery Wildlands

Website sponsor

  • Home
  • Flora
    • Flora species
    • Vascular
      • Ferns
        • King fern
        • True ferns
        • Adder's tongue ferns
        • Fork ferns and whisk ferns
        • Horsetails
      • Conifers
        • Celery pines
        • Kauri
        • Podocarps
          • Podocarpus
          • Dacrydium
          • Prumnopitys
          • Dacrycarpus
          • Halocarpus
          • Lepidothamnus
          • Manoao
        • Cypress
      • Flowering plants
        • Parasites
          • Leafy mistletoes
          • Pygmy mistletoes
            • Korthalsella flowers
            • Korthalsella hosts
            • Dispersal of Korthalsella
            • Associates of Korthalsella
          • Root parasites
          • Saprophytes
        • Epiphytes
          • NZ
            • Typical
            • Occasional
            • Hemi-epiphytes
            • Ephemeral
            • NZ list
        • Monocots
          • Orchids
            • Structure
          • Grasses
        • Dicots
          • Hebes
          • Kowhai
          • Coprosma
          • Beech
          • Rata
        • Carnivorous
        • Deciduous plants
        • Aquatic plants
      • Poisonous natives
      • Threatened plant lists
      • What's a vascular plant?
      • Club mosses
    • Non Vascular
      • Bryophytes
        • Liverworts
        • Mosses
        • Hornworts
      • Algae
        • Seaweeds
      • Lichens
    • Plant identification
      • Written descriptions
      • Experts
      • Plant keys
        • Key to parasitic plant genera
      • Collecting plants
        • Should I collect
        • Choosing a specimen
        • Field notes
        • Fresh plant material
        • Pressing and drying
        • Mounting specimens
        • Labelling specimens
    • Fungi
    • Make your own book
    • Quiz
  • Threats
    • Exotic Plants (Weeds)
      • Unwanted organisms
      • DOC weeds
      • Plant me instead
      • Pest Plant Accord
    • Pest Animals
      • Mammals
        • Mustelids
        • Rodents
        • Ungulates
        • Possums
      • Fish
      • Insects
    • Other threats
      • Natural events
        • Insects
      • Human induced
        • Habitat loss
        • Collection
        • Climate change
  • Ecosystems
    • Plant communities
      • Dunes
        • Volcanic
        • Coastal
          • Threats
          • Common species
          • Research on dunes
          • Pingao research
          • What you can do
      • Wetlands
        • Estuaries
          • Common estuarine species
          • Research on estuaries
        • Ephemeral
        • Restiad peat bogs
      • Forests
        • Kauri-podocarp-broadleaved
        • Podocarp broadleaved
        • Beech
      • Scrub/shrublands
        • Geothermal
          • Distribution of geothermal vegetation
          • Geothermal plants
          • Geothermal vegetation types
          • Threats to geothermal vegetation
        • Frost flat/hollow
        • Manuka fens
        • Gumlands
      • Grasslands
        • Tussock grasslands
      • Bare ground
        • Braided rivers
        • Alpine
        • Cliff
        • Scree and boulderfields
        • Shingle beaches
      • Herbfields
        • Saltpan
    • Ecosystem services
    • Novel ecosystems
  • Publications
    • Documents
    • Newsletter
    • Plant lists
      • Plant lists by region
      • Search plant lists
      • National plant lists
      • How to prepare a plant list
    • Botanical Society journals
    • NZPCN publications
  • Conservation
    • Seedbank
      • Project 1 - Pohutukawa, Rata and Myrtaceae
      • Project 2 - Alpine flora and the Forget-Me-Nots
      • Project 3 - Kowhai and its relatives
      • Project 4 - Podocarps and trees of the forest
    • Training
      • Module 1: Plant life
      • Module 2: Covenants
      • Module 3: Propagation
      • Module 4: Wetlands
      • Pilot course 2006
    • Restoration
      • Gardening
        • Being weed wise
        • Garden plants
          • Trees and shrubs
          • Broad-leaved herbs
          • Grass-like herbs
          • Climbers
          • Ferns
        • Attracting wildlife
        • Planting for lizards
          • Rules
      • Species recovery
        • Plant translocations
      • Ecological restoration
        • Case studies
          • Tavora Reserve
          • Waiwhakareke
      • Revegetation
      • Eco-sourcing
      • Find a restoration group
    • Monitoring
      • Number count
        • Number count method
        • Pros and cons of number counts
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Presence/absence surveys
        • Presence/absence survey methods
        • Pros and cons of presence/absence surveys
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Mapping spatial extent
        • Spatial extent mapping methods
        • Pros and cons of spatial extent mapping
        • Data analysis and interpretation
      • Photo points
        • Photo point guidelines
    • Habitat protection
      • Legal protection
        • Nga Whenua Rahui
        • QEII covenants
        • DOC Covenants
      • Animal pest control
      • Weed control
      • Fencing
    • Funding
    • Botanic gardens
  • NZPCN
    • News
    • Trilepidea newsletter
    • Events
      • Conference 2022
        • Conference programme summary
        • 2022 conference workshops
        • 2022 conference field trips
        • Code of conduct
        • COVID-19 information
        • 2022 conference sponsors
        • Abstract and poster submission
        • 2022 Conference venue and accommodation
        • Conference Workshop: Restoration Pathways
        • 2022 conference postponement
      • Conference 2019
      • Conference 2017
      • Conference 2015
        • Speakers
        • Workshops
        • Field trips
        • Charity auction
      • Conference 2013
        • Speakers
        • Timetable
      • 2023 Restoration Pathways Workshop
    • David Given Scholarship
      • David Given Scholarship Recipients
    • Members
    • Council members
      • NZPCN council member profiles
      • Council 2013
      • Council 2012
      • Council 2011
      • Council 2010
      • Council 2009
      • Council 2008
      • Council 2007
      • Council 2006
      • Council 2005
      • Council 2004
      • Council 2003
    • Awards
      • NZPCN Awards
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
        • 2012
        • 2011
        • 2010
        • 2009
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
        • 2005
        • 2022
    • Shop
    • Donate
    • Favourite Plant
    • Why join NZPCN?
    • Join
  • Help
    • FAQ
      • Joining the Network
      • The Network
      • Network website
      • New Zealand plants
      • The law
      • Your discoveries
    • Query
    • Glossary
  • Contact us