Corybas confusus

Corybas confusus, commonly known as the spider orchid[2] is a species of terrestrial orchid endemic to New Zealand. It has a single heart-shaped leaf and a single dark green or light green flower with reddish maroon streaks and blotches and long, thread-like lateral sepals and petals. It grows in highland areas on both main islands.

Corybas confusus Lehnebach in the wild

Spider orchid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Corybas
Species:
C. confusus
Binomial name
Corybas confusus

Description

Corybas confusus is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with a single heart-shaped to almost round leaf 9.5–19 mm (0.4–0.7 in) long and 11–21.5 mm (0.4–0.8 in) with a petiole a further 3–31.5 mm (0.1–1 in) long. There is a single erect, dark green or light green flower with reddish maroon streaks and blotches on a peduncle 0.5–8 mm (0.02–0.3 in) long and reaching to a height of 12–30 mm (0.5–1 in). The largest part of the flower is the dorsal sepal which arches and partly forms a hood over the labellum. The lateral sepals are thread-like, whitish or reddish and 13–46 mm (0.5–2 in) long. The petals are similar to the lateral sepals but 27–75 mm (1–3 in). The labellum is dark red with a pale green to yellowish centre, about 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide and folded lengthwise forming a groove along its centre line. Flowering occurs from October to December.[2]

Taxonomy

Corybas confusus was first formally described in 2016 by Carlos Lehnebach from a specimen collected near Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes National Park and the description was published in Phytotaxa.[1][3] The specific epithet (confusus) refers to the similarity of the flowers of this species with those of C. obscurus and to the similarity of the leaf to those of C. macranthus and C. orbiculatus.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This spider orchid grows at altitudes of between 1,000 and 1,100 m (3,000 and 4,000 ft) in leaf litter in southern beech forest and in scrub or grass tussocks. It is found on both the North and South Islands and may also occur on Chatham Island.[2][3]

Conservation

Corybas confusus is classified as "not threatened" by the New Zealand Government Department of Conservation Threat Classification System.[2]

gollark: It's kind of just a different form of PS#D7CD76C0.
gollark: The issue is that you can queue fake websocket_message events on the SPUDNET coroutine because of the process manager being exposed to the sandbox.
gollark: No, he explained how it works now.
gollark: That bug actually still isn't patched, I should... work on that?
gollark: But did release an obfuscated proof of concept for it.

References
  1. "Corybas confusus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. de Lange, Peter. "Corybas confusus". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. Lehnebach, Carlos A.; Zeller, Andreas J.; Frericks, Jonathan; Ritchie, Peter (12 August 2016). "Five new species of Corybas (Diurideae, Orchidaceae) endemic to New Zealand and phylogeny of the Nematoceras clade". Phytotaxa. 270 (1): 9–10. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.270.1.1.
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