tiny packages of Colour & Flair
Yes! New Zealand has nearly 120 different described species of native Orchids. Who knew.!?.. well lots of people, but I have only discovered them in the last few years, and the more I discover the more I realise they are just about everywhere! In Karamea so far I have found just a smidgen of those that exist, but I am not hiking up mountains or looking for lost waterfalls... but just here on the coast on my way to and fro my daily activities... native orchids can be seen..... oh...just a small detail... most of them are about the size of your pinky fingernail : )
Finding our orchids is not always easy; They are tiny, often only with one leaf to recognise them by, some are way up high in the tree tops, some are a single flower on a single stem that is so fine they are barely visible and some, extraordinarily, grow UNDER the leaflitter on the forest floor! But the triumph of finding them is very satisfying, good luck!
Bamboo Orchids, Earina mucronata, peka-a-waka
Easter Orchids, Earina autumnalis, Ruapeka
Onion Orchids, Microtis spp
Sun Orchids, Thelymitra spp
Green Hood Orchids, Pterostylis spp
Horned Orchids, Orthoceras novae-zeelandiae, Paratawhiti
Potatoe Orchids, Gastrodia spp, Huperei
Spurred Helmet Orchids, Corybas cheesemanii
Spider Orchids - Corybas oblongus
Spider Orchids, Corybas spp
Spider Orchids - more Corybas spp
Lady's Slipper Orchids, Dendrobium cunninghamii
Caladenia spp, white fingers/pink fingers
