Painstaking mission to save critically endangered orchid
A critically endangered orchid rescued from its final remaining habits has been painstakingly relocated in a last ditched bid to bring it back to life.
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A critically endangered orchid has been transplanted on Torrens Island, using seed from the last patch of plants in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges at Grange golf course.
Volunteers from the Native Orchid Society of SA collected the seed and scientists at the SA Seed Conservation Centre worked out how to use it.
It turns out the sandhill greenhood orchid (Pterostylis arenicola) relies on symbiotic relationships with other living creatures: An insect called the fungus gnat for pollination; and a fungus for germination.
Threatened flora ecologist Jerry Smith from Natural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges suggested planting the 32 young orchids into similar native pine woodland habitat at Torrens Island, as a back-up to the population at Grange.
The orchid is now flowering and looking like it will set seed.
“That will be the real test,” Mr Smith said. “Does the plant naturally reproduce at Torrens Island? So if you don’t have a pollinator to produce the seed, it’s unlikely to drop seed and come up by itself. The long term the aim is to have this population viable at Torrens Island as well and not have to keep planting it all the time.”
Volunteers from Friends of Torrens Island helped plant the orchids and are watching over them as they settle in.
The seeds are very fine, like dust, so don’t have the usual energy stores. Instead, the seed gets its energy for germination from the soil fungus.
The project was jointly funded through the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.