The New Zealand indigenous orchid flora comprises approximately 120 named taxa (de Lange et al 2017) although some botanists believe there could be at least 140 taxa. Orchid flowers are complex and undertanding the specific anatomical terms can help with identication - see our page on the structure of an orchid flower
For more information about orchids see:
- New Zealand Native Orchid Group (comprehensive website which also lists informal ‘tag name’ entities)
- Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research orchid key (Lucid online key)
- Key to NZ Gastrodia (PDF, 440.60 kB)
- Orchids of the Chatham Islands
- Wild orchids of the lower North Island (DOC)
- Orchid habitat features and conservation (Te Ara, Encyclopedia of NZ)
- Pollination ecology of four epiphytic orchids by Carlos Lehnbach and Alastair Robertson.
- Hatch, E.D. 1951. Checklist of the New Zealand Orchids - Together with a Key to the Genera and Species, and Some Notes on Their Distribution. Tuatara: Volume 4, Issue 1, July