Underground orchid  (Rhizanthella gardneri)

Biology

These orchids reproduce vegetatively to produce up to three daughter stems. It also undergoes sexual reproduction, and underground insects such as termites and gnats are known to pollinate the flowers (5). The resultant fruit may take up to six months to mature; in all studied flowers these were not dispersed and eventually decayed, thus releasing their seeds (5). It may be, however, that native marsupials were important dispersal agents (5). This orchid is always found in association with the root system of broom honey myrtle (Melaleuca uncinata), obtaining nutrients from these plants by way of a mycorrhizal fungus (4).

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