Practical
Plants

Gastrodia sesamoides

Potato Orchid

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

Root - raw or cooked. It resembles a beetroot in flavour but is watery and insipid[10][11][2][3]. The root can be up to 15cm long and 4cm thick[4]. Leaves. Eaten by the Australian Aborigines in Tasmania[4].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Australia, New Zealand.
Habitat
Open forest and scrub from the coast to the sub-alpine zone, mainly north of latitude 42°s, in the North and South Islands of New Zealand[9].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

Seed - surface sow, preferably as soon as it is ripe, in the greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out. 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 until it is able to obtain nutrients from decaying material in the soil[5]. It is best to use some of the soil that is growing around established plants in order to introduce the fungus, or to sow the seed around a plant of the same species and allow the seedlings to grow on until they are large enough to move. 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[1].

Cultivation

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[2][7]. 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[7]. 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[6].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4

    ↩1↩2

  3. Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-340-508302

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  4. Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8

    ↩1↩2

  5. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

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  6. Cribb. P. & Bailes. C. Hardy Orchids. Orchids for the Garden and Frost-free Greenhouse. Christopher Helm. London. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0 7470 0416 1

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  7. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

    ↩1↩2

  8. Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. Flora of the Sydney Region Reed. Australia. 1993-00-00 ISBN 0730104001

  9. Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961-00-00

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  10. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

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  11. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

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