Thelymitra longifolia — Practical Plants

Taxonomy and growth

Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Thelymitra
Life cycle: perennial
Height: 0.45 m
Flower type: hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

Root - raw or cooked^[2]^[3].

Plant part: Root

Environment

Range: New Zealand.
Habitat: Rocks, banks and open ground from the maritime to the sub-alpine zones on North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands^[6].
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^[4]. 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.

Cultivation

This species is not very hardy outdoors in Britain and generally requires greenhouse protection^[1]. 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^[5]. A very ornamental plant^[1].

Thelymitra pulchella
Anacamptis pyramidalisPyramidal Orchid
Aplectrum hyemalePutty Root
Bletilla striataHyacinth Orchid

References

F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
↩1 ↩2
Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991-00-00 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
↩
Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-340-508302
↩
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
↩
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
↩
Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961-00-00
↩