Underground Orchid :: Rhizanthella gardneri
Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 006
The Underground Orchid is a critically endangered flowering plant, native to Western Australia.
- (00:05) Intro
- (02:05) Species Information
- (15:33) Citations
- (16:33) Music
- (28:34) Pledge
Research for today’s show was compiled from
- IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/97853037/97854226
- Plants, People, Planet, Volume 1, Issue 3 – https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.45
- Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizanthella_gardneri
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A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.
Rough Transcript
Intro 00:05
Welcome to Bad at Goodbyes.
On today’s show we consider the Underground Orchid.
Species Information 02:05
The Underground Orchid is a critically endangered flowering plant, native to Western Australia.
The Underground Orchid is a species of extraordinary adaptation, a flower that lives mostly underground. It lacks chlorophyll, does not photosynthesize, and therefore has no leaves or green coloration. Its main body is a horizontal underground stem called a rhizome, that stores water and nutrients, that generally measures 2 to 5 inches long. Leaf-like structures, called bracts, and clusters of tiny 1/8 inch flowers sprout from the rhizome at or just above ground-level. The cream, purple and pink-ish leaf-like bracts cup and curve over the red flower clusters, looking a bit like a tulip half-buried in the earth. What appear to be flower petal are in fact the leaf-like bracts, and what appear to be stamen, are in fact the whole flowers, themselves.
Since it does not photosynthesize, the Underground Orchid relies on a complex of symbiotic relationships with a fungus and the broom honey myrtle shrub. The fungus colonizes the orchid’s roots, acting as a conduit for essential nutrients and in return, the orchid provides the fungus with a suitable habitat. This same fungus also forms a relationship with the roots of the broom honey myrtle shrub, assisting the shrub in nutrient and water uptake. The shrub, in turn, provides the fungus with carbohydrates produced through photosynthesis, and the underground orchid indirectly benefiting from the broom honey myrtle’s photosynthetic output via the fungus.
The Underground Orchid reproduces both sexually and via asexual vegetative propagation. Its sexual reproduction involves flowering, then pollination, likely facilitated by small underground or surface insects like ants and termites), and then once fertilized, seeds are produced in fleshy fruits which take several months to mature. The exact mechanism of seed dispersal remains unknown, but the fossil record suggests that small mammals like bandicoots or potoroos may have contributed to seed dispersal through consumption of the fruits.
The Underground Orchid also reproduces asexually through the extension of the rhizome, growing new off-shoots, effectively cloning the parent plant. These cloned offspring cannot fertilize each other or the parent, so though short-term survival can occur through this means it is not a viable longterm population growth strategy.
The Underground Orchid is native to Western Australia in the Corrigin area east of Perth. This is a semi-arid bushland with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The landscape consists of plains and hills with sandy or sandy-loam soils. Annual rainfall is less than 15 inches per year on average, with most of the rain falling during the cooler months. The orchid exclusively grows within thickets of broom honey myrtle, often interspersed with scattered Eucalyptus and Acacia trees. These thickets provide the shade and microclimate necessary for both the orchid and the myrtle’s success.
The Underground Orchid has developed several adaptations for its low-rainfall habitat. First, obviously, it mostly grows underground, shielding it from harsh sun and drying winds. The absence of leaves minimizes water loss. And the orchid’s flowering and seed production coincide with periods of higher rainfall.
The orchid shares its habitat with: Scrub-heath shrubs, Malleefowl, Gum trees, Berry saltbush, wallaby, cockatoo, skinks, Eucalyptus, possum, Acacia, lichen, snakes, geckos, kangaroos, of course the broom honey myrtle shrub and many many more.
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In the dream, in the dark, the ever cool dark, in the dream our hands entwined, an intimacy, a giving, taking, holding and waiting and reaching and growing in concert harmony and dissonance, a crescendo a blossoming on a tiny dirt stage. fruiting in that sharp first light. In the dream.
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Due to its highly specialized adaptations, the limited availability of suitable habitat poses a significant threat to the Underground Orchid population. Its intertwined reliance on fungi and thriving thickets of broom honey myrtle challenges its spread and growth even in a stable habitat. But of course human encroachment and human induced climate change are pressuring the orchid’s native ecosystem.
A warming climate is reducing rainfall in the region, affecting the broom honey myrtle by decreasing its biomass and its leaf litter fall. This impacts soil nutrient cycling, moisture retention, and critical fungal activity.
Local human development and agricultural practices risk chemical spray drift and are changing drainage patterns, reducing water availability and compacting and eroding the soil. Rising salinity in the watertable, also caused by agriculture, reduces fresh water availability for these plants
Human-introduced invasive species, such as rabbits and fast growing weeds, further threaten the orchid. While the exact impact of weeds is uncertain, they likely compete with the orchid, honey myrtle and its associated fungus for soil moisture and nutrients. And weeds increase the risk of fire, which is particularly detrimental to the orchid during its flowering period.
The Underground Orchid is protected by the Australian Department of Environment and Conservation who are monitoring and surveying plant numbers and impact of threats, including early intervention into any wildfires which may threaten the species. Two habitat sites have been set aside as nature reserves.
The Underground Orchid was placed on the Critically Endangered Red List in 2020, their population is currently in decline.
Our most recent counts estimate that less than 9 Underground Orchid remain in the wild.
Citations 15:33
IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/97853037/97854226
Plants, People, Planet, Volume 1, Issue 3 – https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.45
Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizanthella_gardneri
Music 16:33
Pledge 28:34
I honor the lifeforce of the Underground Orchid. I will never know or see it, and so instead I will carry its human name in my record. I am grateful to have shared time on our bright planet with this being. I lament the ways in which I and my species have harmed and diminished this species.
And so, in the name of the Underground Orchid I pledge to reduce my consumption. And my carbon footprint. And curb my wastefulness. I pledge to acknowledge and attempt to address the costs of my actions and inactions. And I pledge to resist the harm of any kin or their habitat, by corporations and governments.
I pledge my song to the witness and memory of all life, to a broad celebration of biodiversity, and to the total liberation of all beings.