''Dendrobium cunninghamii'', commonly known as winika, pekapeka, Christmas orchid, bamboo orchid or ladies slipper orchid, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to New Zealand. It is commonly found growing in

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, Stewart and

Chatham Island Chatham Island ( ) ( Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) is the largest island of the Chatham Islands group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is said to be "halfway between the equator and the pole, a ...

s and normally flowers in summer and early autumn.

Description

''Dendrobium cunninghamii'' is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

that forms tufts up wide with wiry, cane-like stems up to long and in diameter. The

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s are similar to the stems and produce many roots. The leaves are narrow linear, long and about wide. Up to eight flowers wide are borne on a short lateral flowering stem. The

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s and

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are white but some parts of the labellum are rose pink, purplish and green. The labellum has three lobes. The side lobes are erect, relatively small and pink or purple and the middle lobe has four or five greenish or yellowish ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs from December to January.

Taxonomy and naming

''Dendrobium cunninghamii'' was first formally discovered in 1835 by

John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...

and the description was published in ''

Edwards's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustrat ...

''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''cunninghamii'') honours Allan Cunningham. David Jones, Mark Clements and Brian Molloy proposed changing the name of this species to ''Winika cunninghamii'' but the change has not been accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

. :::"''Winika'' is the accepted old

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

name for this orchid. The name ''Te Winika'' was given to the sacred war canoe of the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

people because this orchid grew on the tōtara tree (''Podocarpus totara'') which was hollowed out to form the hull.(Moore & Irwin, 1978) We assign the feminine gender to it—''Winika cunninghamii''. The Māori Queen,

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (born Pikimene Korokī Mahuta, 23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) reigned as Māori King movement, Māori Queen from 1966 until her death in 2006. Her reign was the longest of any Māori people, Māori monarch. Her fu ...

, granted consent to use the name ''Winika'', because of its particular cultural significance to her Tainui people."Clements MA, Jones DL, Molloy BPJ. 1997. ''Winika'', a new monotypic genus for the New Zealand orchid previously known as ''Dendrobium cunninghamii'' Lindl. ''Orchadian'' 12. (5): 214-220 (1997)

Distribution and habitat

Winika is usually an epiphyte on forest trees but sometimes also on fallen logs. It sometimes grows on rocks and cliff faces, even on brick or concrete walls. It is found on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand but also on the Stewart and Chatham Islands.

Cultural references

In 1990,

New Zealand Post NZ Post (), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing most postal services in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunications servi ...

released a New Zealand native orchid miniature sheet to support the New Zealand 1990 World Stamp Exhibition held in Auckland. ''Winika'' was one of the stamps (40c) on the miniature sheet. The others were the sun orchid ('' Thelymitra pulchella''), spider orchid ('' Corybas macranthus'') and greenhood orchid ('' Pterostylis banksii'').

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q21161198, from2=Q2235586 cunninghamii Endemic orchids of New Zealand Epiphytic orchids Plants described in 1835 Taxa named by John Lindley