Wild Orchids of the Lower North Island: Field Guide 2007
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Wild Orchids of the Lower North When glancing through this beautifully It is obvious that a lot of careful Island: Field guide 2007 presented new book for the fi rst time, thought has gone into the production By Peter de Lange, Jeremy Rolfe, Ian my immediate question was why of Wild orchids of the lower North St George, and John Sawyer wasn’t it written as a guide to all of Islandd. The layout is among the best I Published by the Department New Zealand’s indigenous orchids? In have seen for any plant or fi eld guide of Conservation, Wellington its current form, the nearly 200 pages in New Zealand. The style and use Conservancy, New Zealand of text are equally applicable to the of colour throughout is excellent and Paperback, 194 pages, remainder of the country and already provides a clean, modern appearance 150 × 205 mm, NZ, 2007 cover 72 taxa – representing the that is easy to use. ISBN 978-0-478-14222-8 majority of species. Orchids are undoubtedly photogenic NZ$20.00 One reason may be that the guide but challenging subjects, and this Reviewed by Murray Dawson was published and largely funded by book contains a wonderful collection the Wellington DOC Conservancy. of images mainly provided by two In the Foreword, it is claimed that of the authors (Ian St George the “lower North Island is a centre and Jeremy Rolfe) but also other of orchid diversity”, but this sounds contributors including Michael Pratt more like a justifi cation than a reality. and Eric Scanlen. In the main section The political boundaries simply there are up to four images for do not refl ect the majority of the each species with emphasis on the orchid species’ natural distributions. diagnostic fl oral characters. However, this is not an unusual There have been extensive generic circumstance as evidenced for recircumscriptions of the Australasian example by Hugh Wilson’s classic orchids, most notably by David Jones Wild plants of Mount Cook National and Mark Clements of Canberra. Park. In Wilson’s (1996) fi eld Some of these names have not been guide, the author comments in his accepted by everyone, including Introduction that many of the species orchidologists from Australia, New in his guide are found beyond the Zealand and elsewhere. The authors study area and for some other regions of Wild orchids of the lower North the book remains useful. This equally Island have followed many of the new applies to his Field guide: Stewart names throughout, and in my opinion Island plants (Wilson, 1994) and this is appropriate as they are using Comprising some 25,000 species to Wild orchids of the lower North the most up-to-date nomenclature worldwide, the Orchidaceae is one Island, both of which have much wider and treatments available (with a of the largest families of fl owering geographic applicability than their preference for Jones and Clements plants. Many hybrids and cultivars titles suggest. revisions). It remains to be seen have distinctive and showy fl owers Another reason for this regional focus whether these new names will stand and constitute a major part of the may be that there is already the Field the test of time. However, I predict that horticultural and cut-fl ower trade. guide to the New Zealand orchids, many will endure to become more Indigenous species are also greatly fi rst published in 1996 and now in widely accepted as preferred names, regarded by enthusiasts and some its fourth edition (St George et al., rather than being sunk into synonymy. have high conservation values. Most 2006). This book is also co-authored The authors accept that there may be countries, including New Zealand, by Ian St George, and he has differences in opinion over the names have devoted orchid groups and published a third relevant title, The used (Acknowledgements) and on societies. nature guide to New Zealand native p. 3 have this to say: For these reasons, the new fi eld orchidss (St George, 1999). All three “Orchids, perhaps more than any guide Wild orchids of the lower North orchid books are of similar physical other group of fl owering plants, Islandd is sure to attract interest. This dimensions, and, in my opinion, are have become a source of much book is published by the Department complementary resources that each emotive debate and scientifi c of Conservation (DOC), and three deserve a place on your bookshelf confl ict. In writing this book we of the authors are well-known DOC and in your tramping pack. were aware of the continuing staff: Peter de Lange is a leading I should also make mention of two debate amongst professional plant conservation scientist based comprehensive online resources and amateur botanists alike in Auckland, and the other two are on New Zealand native orchids, the over the most appropriate orchid based in Wellington; Jeremy Rolfe NZNOG website (www.nativeorchids. classifi cation, nomenclature and is a botanist and photographer, and co.nz) and the NZPCN website (www. the exact number of species in this John Sawyer is a plant ecologist and nzpcn.org.nz); the latter shares many country …” a founder of the New Zealand Plant of the images and similar text with the Although the authors do not present Conservation Network (NZPCN). The book Wild orchids of the lower North a full synonymy, they do provide in remaining author, Ian St George, is Islandd. also Wellington based and editor of their table 1 (pp. 14–18) a useful the New Zealand Native Orchid Group concordance of names followed (NZNOG) journal. in their fi eld guide compared with New Zealand Garden Journal, 2008, Vol. 11(1) 32 those used in the New Zealand been corrected by more rigorous Of the large photographic collection Orchidaceae section of an earlier proof-reading. However, their represented, only two suffered from Flora treatment (Moore, 1970). incidence is low and they do not lack of resolution (as evidenced by To assist in the fi eld identifi cation of generally detract from the overall the pixilation of images on p. 139 and orchids the authors have provided high quality of the work. A few are p. 159). some innovative ‘orchid fi nders’ mentioned below. However, these are minor quibbles (pp. 24–39). These divide the species It is stated in the Foreword that primarily relating to editing – I found up into several groups (orchid types, this book “… is part of a series little to fault in the main content. altitude and habitat, fl ower colour, and promoting and raising awareness This fi eld guide is very reasonably fl owering time) arranged into a series of the indigenous plant life of the priced and contains a wealth of of illustrated and coloured lists, along [lower North Island] region …”, but invaluable information and excellent with the relevant page number to the no indication is given on what the photographs. I thoroughly recommend main profi le of each species. These other members of this series are. The it to anyone who wishes to identify shortlists provide a quick and simple Wild orchids of the lower North Island species or gain an appreciation of way of identifying orchids that avoids guide book appears to be a stand- native orchids, not only in the lower constructing a traditional dichotomous alone publication as it has an ISBN North Island, but for New Zealand as key that would be loaded with number, rather than part of a formal a whole. specialist orchid terminology. series with an ISSN number. References In the main section (pp. 40–183), two The fi rst few chapters (pp. 1–19) Moore, L.B. (1970). Orchidaceae. In: pages are devoted to each species at times lack coherence and give Moore L.B. and Edgar, E. (1970). and contain the following information: the impression they were written Flora of New Zealand. Vol. II. botanical name, common name, by different authors or perhaps at Wellington, Government Printer. New Zealand distribution (with a different times. They are repetitive Pp. 102–167. distribution map confi ned to the lower in a few places and contradictory in Sawyer, J.W.D. (2005). Native plants North Island), description (based others. of the Eastbourne hills: Status mainly on Moore’s (1970) treatment), One passage (p. 3) states the number and conservation management. recognition, habitat, fl owering of orchid taxa is conservatively 120 Wellington, Department of and fruiting months, and when and may be more than 200, whereas Conservation. 44 p. appropriate, conservation status and elsewhere (p. 13) the fi gure is given St George, I. (1999). The nature additional notes. Caption and photo as c. 106 taxa. It would have been guide to New Zealand native credits accompany each image. useful to have the range of estimates orchids. Auckland, Random The profi les of each orchid are together in one place. From the House. 176 p. arranged alphabetically by genus and text and species/taxon estimates, St George, I.; Irwin, B.; Hatch, species. Species are not arranged I cannot see how the percentage D. (2006). Field guide to the following a classifi cation system in the Foreword of “… 72% of New New Zealand orchids. 4th ed. (formal or informal, due to the debate Zealand’s orchid species recorded Wellington, New Zealand Native outlined in the aforementioned quote), from the region” was obtained, and Orchid Group. 136 p. (First so closely related and morphologically can only assume that it should instead published in 1996.) similar genera are not grouped have been a number rather than a Wilson, H. (1994). Field guide: together. This means, for example, percentage, as stated elsewhere Stewart Island plants.