Journal Number 90
March 2004

ORIGINAL PAPERS

Petalochilus Species - Red Lips of Fiordland
By Kelly Rennell, Invercargill

During January 2004  Sid Smithies and I were blessed with a visit from Eric Scanlen who had come to
sort out our local Gastrodia.

On 18 Jan Sid had to catch up with his chores and prepare for the next trip so I took Eric to Lake Hauroko area on the edge of the Fiordland National Park and he asked what we might expect to find.

My reply was Earina mucronata & E. autumalis, Winika cunninghamii, Drymoanthus flavus, some Thelymitra, some Gastrodia and redlips. Eric queried the term redlip and I explained it was an upright green stem with a very slender leaf about 2mm wide and 100 long. The slender stem carries 1 or 2 small white flowers that have red barred lips. "Labella" says Eric and "have you any photos?"

The photos I showed him were of Petalochilus minor and a red stem specimen that Eric called P. "Red stem" (Photo right) a 2-4 flowered taxon reported only from the Puffer Track Kaitoke to date. Some light showers fell on the way to Lake Hauroko but I had promised Eric a fine day and it was just right especially for the sandflies. As we drove through the beech forest the sun came out and apart from some damp foliage conditions were very pleasant. We walked the track down to the tree where I had found the pale Gastrodia "Shauroko" reported in Journal 87 p27 but it was not there this year.

There were many Pterostylis plants that had finished flowering and set seed also the leaves of large areas of Nematoceras trilobus agg that had also finished flowering here on the ER 77/72 boundary.

Moved down to the car park at the lake edge where the sandflies were more active and headed along the track to the NW. Spotted a Gastrodia cunninghamii which had finished flowering and set seed about 35 seed capsules on a 600mm stem. Climbing a slight rise past the first creek we found Winika cunninghamii on a fallen tree in abundant flower. Some flowers were without the usual purple side lobes to the labellum but most were normal. Possibly there were several plants there. Adenochilus gracilis was common in the vicinity with many seed capsules present.

We found several Petalochilus stems were in capsule some with red stems but mostly green. Several of these red stems had red ovaries with green stripes, which Eric put down to a form of Bruce Irwin's P. aff chlorostylus. Eric then found 2 spent flowers which clearly showed the toothed midlobe of P. minor with the red bars across the labellum. The best part was the trapped sandfly among the calli. This had to be photographed much to the delight of the living sandflies, which were just waiting for anyone who was not paying full attention to squashing them as they landed. 

While Eric was getting his 3-D photographs I found three separateplants with fresh all white flowers. (Photo right). This got Eric even more excited. He explained that this was a species without the red barred labellum called P. nothofageti not previously reported south of Christchurch and we had found it. It was growing in moss clumps among fallen beech logs and scattered ferns. The plants were 100-150mm tall with one white flower, leaves 2.5 x 150mm pale green and hairless, one slender green bract, a third of the way up the stem.

More sandfly feeding as more photographs were needed but eventually we were able to move on again after I had mastered Eric's demands for increased depth of field with minimum aperture, flash, a close up background and reflectors to light up the shadows. It was notable that all P. aff chlorostylus (?) were spent; P. minor fading and P. nothofageti were still fresh.

 Back to the car park and then southeast along the shore to see the Drymoanthus flavus growing on the beech trees on the edge of the lake. Sid and I had previously found some half dozen plants in bud end of September and flowering 7 November. The flowers were finished but there was one healthy seed capsule to be photographed.

On the way to the Drymoanthus we found further G. cunninghamii but all had finished flowering and had set all capsules, all upright. Further down the track I found two tawny stems of Gastrodia in bud, which had recently emerged, and which we suspect to be G. "long column Holt" found at Holt Park Otautau by Sid Smithies [J87 p27] and later in Anderson & Queens Parks in Invercargill. Usually under Rhododendrons, sometimes in open bark gardens and sometimes emerging from Ericaceous ground cover. If these are G. "longcolumn Holt" they are the first specimens found away from the park environment. We will have to return when the flowers are open to confirm the I.D.

The following day was again brilliantly fine; Sid took Eric and me deeper into the National Park to the Grebe River right down to where it flows into Lake Manapouri. Many things were seen but that will be another story except for the finding near the lake of some fresh P. aff. chlorostylus. Red barred labellum, two rows of calli on the mid lobe and many calli on the margins of the midlobe. The final feature was the presence of sessile red glands on the back of the dorsal sepal. More sandfly feeding and photographs but the pictures were worth the blood donations.

On 23 Jan 04 Sid, Eric & I headed out in Sid's 4WD to Slab Hut in ER 72 north of the Borland road on the west bank of the Waiau River. On the way in we were treated to the rare sight of a family of three sparrow hawks Falco novaeseelandiae sitting on adjacent fence posts. They stayed until Sid was able to get some superb photographs from about 15m.

Along the bank of Slab Creek I found several G. cunninghamii as usual in capsule and also 3 in bud G. "longcolumn Holt" (?) in moss covered ground under beech. Another site to revisit soon. Also Eric found one fresh flower of P. nothofageti this time with the midlobe properly curled under as in the Field guide illustration. This was Sid's first rapt look at the species so he had to add it to his collection of Digi photos.

Sid was not so pleased when his 4WD refused to start for our return. Only 9 km from the nearest road and 50km from the garage. Eric & I knew it was serious when Sid claimed the bottom bunk nearest to the door as his for the night. We had to walk for ½ a km to get cell phone coverage. Several cell phone calls later and after following his mechanics instructions on what size of spanner to hit the fuel pump with it sprang into life and we headed home with great relief.

At Sid's we amazed Eric with photographs taken in the area of Stegostyla aff. alpina "red lip" (Photo right) taken 19 Dec 02 among manuka scrub alongside the track to Slab Hut. Which he assures us is unreported to date. He now wants to return.