Dendrobium cunninghamii
Winika
Family OrchidaceaeAlso called Pekapeka, Christmas orchid, Bamboo orchid
About
Winika is New Zealand's endemic cane-stemmed epiphytic orchid, forming large tufts on forest trees. White flowers with a pink, purple and green lip appear in early summer.
Field notes
Morphology
Forms tufts up to 2 m across of wiry, cane-like stems up to 1 m long and 7 mm thick. Narrow leaves are 3–5 cm long. Short side stems carry up to eight flowers 2–2.5 cm wide with white petals and sepals and a three-lobed lip marked rose pink, purple and green.
Distribution & habitat
Endemic to New Zealand on the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands, mostly in rainforest.
Ecology
Usually perches on forest trees but also on fallen logs, rocks, cliffs and even brick or concrete walls. Flowers mainly December to January.
History & etymology
Described by John Lindley in 1835 in Edwards's Botanical Register and named after Allan Cunningham. Some botanists have placed it in its own genus as Winika cunninghamii.
Conservation
Classed as Not Threatened under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- New Zealand
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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