The Temperate Database is in the process of being updated, with new records being added and old ones being checked and brought up to date where necessary. This record has not yet been checked and updated.

Common Name:

General Information

Gastrodia cunninghamii is a perennial plant that can grow up to 1.00 metres tall.
It has uses.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

New Zealand.

Habitat

Dark shaded places in deep woods[], usually in beech forests[], on North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. A saprophytic herb, it is without green parts and is entirely dependant upon a fungus for its nutriment[]. This makes it very difficult to cultivate outside its native range. As well as its fungal host, it also requires a damp humus-rich soil in a sheltered woodland position[].
The freshly opened flowers have a refreshingly aromatic scent, though this becomes foetid and unpleasant as the flowers fade[].
Orchids are, in general, shallow-rooting plants of well-drained low-fertility soils. Their symbiotic relationship with a fungus in the soil allows them to obtain sufficient nutrients and be able to compete successfully with other plants. They are very sensitive to the addition of fertilizers or fungicides since these can harm the symbiotic fungus and thus kill the orchid[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - surface sow, preferably as soon as it is ripe, into the plants natural habitat near existing colonies, or onto a bed of Quercus wood inoculated with the fungus Armillaria mellea (introduce this fungus into your land with extreme caution since it kills trees and there is no known preventative[]). The seed of this species is extremely simple, it has a minute embryo surrounded by a single layer of protective cells. It contains very little food reserves and depends upon a symbiotic relationship with a species of soil-dwelling fungus. The fungal hyphae invade the seed and enter the cells of the embryo. The orchid soon begins to digest the fungal tissue and this acts as a food supply for the plant.
Division in autumn. The plant is very intolerant of root disturbance, any moving or dividing should be attempted in the autumn, keep a large ball of soil around the plant[].