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The only plant in the country that is completely dependent on another for water and nutrients has been given a hand in its fight for survival.
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Bringing the rare dactylanthus to Wellington is the result of two years of careful planning. Source: 1 NEWS
Pua o te Rēinga, or dactylanthus, seeds have been taken from the rare plant that grows in Pureora Forest Park in the center of the North Island and planted at two Wellington locations: Zealandia Nature Sanctuary and Otari-Wilton’s Bush .
“It’s really a small area, so all we need is an earthquake or something to split that area or disease or someone who doesn’t know and we will lose those species. So in terms of that, it’s really rare and very valuable to us. “, Wellington. City Council Conservation Advisor Karin van der Walt told 1 NEWS.
The project has also seen representatives from the six broader iwi in the Wellington region work together to transport a native species in an attempt to increase their population for the first time.
Gemma Wright, a member of Ngāti Maniapoto, Taranaki Whānui and Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi iwi, was responsible for safely transporting the seeds between the two locations.
“It is so spiritual. It is uniting all the iwi of the Wellington area … My request to Tāne (god of the forest) and also to Otari, take care of them … That is all we ask local iwi: nurture these seeds to flourish, “he said.
The parasitic plant is difficult to detect on the forest floor and is in severe decline, with pests like opossums and historic clearings decimating populations.
“There are so many populations where the adult tubers are breaking, dying and rotting and there is very little evidence of young tubers or tubers recently attached with adolescent growth … there are very, very tubers that are actually producing female flowers,” said the Nga Manu Nature Reserve Trustee David Mudge.
Mudge said it’s important for the species to have existing mixed-age plants because female flowers are found in younger plants and male flowers are found in older populations.
Dactylanthus attaches to a host tree at ground level or just below the soil surface with a placental-like attachment, and could have multiple attachments or be attached to a couple of trees.
The root of the host tree becomes inflamed when this happens, helping the dactylanthus.
This bell root is viewed as a treasure by some gatherers, but it is illegal to remove it from public conservation lands and when removed, it kills attached dactylanthus.
The Department of Conservation said in a statement that while it is not aware of any theft of dactylanthus from the wild in the past year, the amount of burned roots sold has increased in recent years.
There have been eight known sales in the last year, compared to one in 2012-2013, and none in 2013-2014.
The plant’s nectar is an important food source for all kinds of animals and insects, but its key pollinator, the ancient short-tailed bat, or pekapeka, is also under threat.
Mudge has photographed short-tailed bats along with species of pests, seven species of birds, and more than 70 different species of insects visiting plants in the Pureora Forest Park.
“The activity there is just incredible … They would be busier than the human equivalent of the most popular fast food establishment in the city,” he said.
Mudge has monitored the growth of dactylanthus further south on the North Island in the Waikanae reserve, which was grown from seeds also transported from Pureora.
He said the Zealandia and Wellington City Council staff overseeing the latest relocation to Wellington have a long-term and challenging journey ahead of them with no sign of the plant expected on the ground for five years.
“It will always be a challenge because dactylanthus seeds do not germinate easily. Dactylanthus seeds are subject to long dormant periods and it is not known what would break that dormancy.
“They are not a seed that germinates well, so it is a numbers game in many ways. You have to plant a lot of seeds to get some plants.”
But Zealand has a perfect habitat, director Danielle Shanahan said in a statement.
“We have some beautiful and quite wet slopes, but we also have this incredible fence around the sanctuary in Zealandia that excludes the predators that can cause so much damage to these species,” he said.
Van der Walt, the conservation advisor to the Wellington Council, has been leading an investigation into how the plant germinates.
“Germination efforts have not been successful to date, but this has highlighted the importance of planting seeds in the wild,” he said in a statement.
The species is believed to have existed historically in the Wellington region before more than 95 percent of the native forest in the area was cut down.
