#microtis

[coprinellus-cluster]

lots of people don’t know we have so many - or any - native orchids in Aotearoa! we have around 120 species of native orchid in several different genera, and several undescribed species as well. these are a few of my favourite native species from the last year or so :)

from top left to bottom right: raupeka/easter orchid (Earina autumnalis), tutukiwi (Pterostylis sp), mountain caps orchid (Caladenia lyallii), silver-back spider orchid (Corybas macranthus), māikuku/white sun orchid (Thelymitra longifolia), green bird orchid (Chiloglottis cornuta), common onion orchid (Microtis unifolia), striped sun orchid (Thelymitra pulchella), and winika (Dendrobium cunninghamii)

[drhoz]

#2223 - Microtis parviflora - Slender Onion-Orchid

A small orchid usually found in moist soils with plenty of sun, across much of New Zealand and Australia, although it's not known from the Northern Territory and its presence in Western Australia appears debatable.

Craters of the Moon, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

[palaeobotany]

I really enjoy photographing with dark field microscopy, just look at the difference!

Here are three species of orchid seeds showing difference in size. The tiny one is Thelymitra pauciflora, big white one is Bletilla striata and dark brown one is Microtis unifolia.

[wenbochenphoto]

Notched Onion Orchid (Microtis arenaria) in Port Campbell National Park Victoria Australia. 19 Oct 2018. (It reminds me green jade stone, not onions at all!)

[the-faunal-frontier]

Atelocynus microtis - Short-Eared Dog

[drhoz]

#1781 - Microtis media - Common Mignonette Orchid

Microtis is derived from the Greek words mikros and ous meaning "small ear", referring to small, ear-like appendages on the column. media refers to the size, also it can actually be up to 60cm tall and has another common name - Tall Mignonette Orchid. All of them have long tubular leaves, hence the ‘onion’ and ‘mignonette’ part of the common name for the genus. 

An onion orchid species from the Yallingup trip that I managed to miss, earlier. It grows in shrubland and woodland, often in seasonally wet areas and on granite outcrops. Endemic to the southwest of Western Australia between Shark Bay and Eyre.

Mignonette and Onion Ochids are widespread in Australia, with the exception of the Northern Territory, but are also found in parts of Asia, New Zealand, and various Pacific Islands. They’re pollinated by small Ichneumonid and Braconid wasps, and also by a range of ant species - which is unusual, since ant saliva kills most pollen. If the flowers fail to be pollinated, they can self-fertilize - in at least some species, the stigma will actually grow until it reaches the pollinia. 

[drhoz]

#2408 - Microtis unifolia - Common Onion-Orchid

Originally described as Ophrys unifolia, and also known as Epipactis porrifolia, and synonymised with 15 other species of Microtis.

in a planter on the footpath in New Plymouth - definitely not somewhere you'd expect an orchid, but apparently it's widespread and found in lawns, gardens, pine plaintations, mossy crevices in old buildings, etc. Sometimes a weed in plant nurseries. In the wild it can be found from swamps to rocky outcrops in semi-arid areas.

Found from south China to Japan, Malesia, and Australasia to the Southwest Pacific. It has a single green leaf and up to one hundred small green or yellowish-green flowers.

New Plymouth, Taranaki Ringplain, New Zealand.