Steve Reekie had his camera with him near Punakaiki on 23 July 2005, when he smelt Corybas alliance orchids in flower. Who else among us can do that? The Column can't so he would dearly like someone with olfactory gear like Steve's on the next orchid hunt. Any volunteers please?

Steve homed in on the offending Nematoceras rivularis agg. on a very damp mossy cliff, facing more or less south and above the beach where flax, mahoe, Hebes, coprosmas and kawakawa protected the cliff from the full force of the wind and shaded the orchid.

Now Steve, recently from Pirongia but moved to Barrytown, is basically a fungus enthusiast, among many other interests so it is to his credit that he even bothered to take shots of this lowly orchid, Figs. 1 - 2 below, and more to his credit that he sent these fine shots to the Column for ID.

Have you ever looked at a pic and had the hair prickle on your head? What's left of the Column's hair, did just that at the sight of - no it couldn't be - Nematoceras dienema from Macquarie Island? (see page 6). But a hunt through the references found this orchid in [1] below but with a cupped leaf and no wonder.

Macquarie Island is at about 54° south latitude, well south of the Auckland Islands, according to the world map. An orchid opening there in the frightful fifties, even in Nov. to Jan. would have to protect its bud in a cupped leaf, just like our Otago and Southland N. aff. iridescens Fig. 3 below. There is actually a resemblance there too.

Punakaiki however is at a sub tropical(?) 42° 6' which could explain the flat emerging leaves (see Fig. 1 above) to down-curled margins on Steve's adult Nematoceras aff. dienema, and possibly explain the 4 to 6 months earlier flowering time.

Nematoceras aff. iridescens from Lake Hauroko
11 Sep 03 for comparison.

The leaf cups the bud, sometimes opening in
the snow  with fairly chunky tepals but the petals
lie forward.

The likeness to N. dienema (J82:21) is unmistakeable with the robust tepals all in the hands-up position and incidentally, petals mostly at the back (atypical for Nematoceras) although N. dienema has an oblanceolate dorsal sepal (no apiculus) and Steve's has an extended apiculus.

Then that other similar one, N. aff. iridescens, flowers inland from a cupped leaf and two months later in September. In bud its tepals are erect at the base but the mature flower dutifully lowers its filamentous petals to sweep forward past the auricles like any self respecting Nematoceras.

Habitats are similar though for Steve's and for N. dienema, "Very wet communities mainly on bleak, windswept, raised beach terraces." at Macquarie Id. according to Jones et al [1] and very similar to one in the sandhills behind Cathedral Beach in the Catlins reported to Ian St George some years ago. These orchids either prefer or can manage in salt laden air.

The Catlins one had just finished flowering in September. Perhaps we have more N. aff. dienema around the bleak windswept beaches of the South Island? Do have a look folks, say in August any damp, shady places behind the dunes around the west and south coast, perhaps Stewart Island, Campbell Is. and the Auckland Is? Don't limit yourselves!

Curiously nothing resembling N. dienema has been recorded between the South Island and Macquarie Id. Anyone down that way in October might profit from a hunt around wet places behind bleak beaches thereabouts because "no record" doesn't mean it's not there. Not many hardy souls with a nose for Corybas alliance, have been looking much, particularly in late winter.

Steve, in awe at the Column's ID above, shot out to get some more shots, ran into John and Bev Coates at their farm called Corybas, would you believe. They led Steve through beautiful forest where they have 12 species growing and to where "a carpet of Corybas/Nematoceras triloba were in full flower." Steve's sharp but back-on shots of an early flowering N. triloba duly arrived plus more N. rivularis agg. from up the hill from, but not of N. aff. dienema! Fig. 4 & 5 below have to be N. longipetala going by its long petals, tepal attitude and labellum shape.

Steve was under strict instructions to get specimens to Brian Molloy and Bruce Irwin and to photograph internal details of these treasures if possible but had a serious mishap with his camera plus related calamities before any of this could happen. So feast your eyes on the classy shots he has left us and join the Column in wishing Steve all the best in his future.