Drymoanthus adversus.
A close-up of a 4mm wide Drymoanthus adversus flower at Kohukohu on 2/11/04. The little green Vee inside the labellum identifies it from the similar, but yellowish, unspotted flowers of D. flavus. D. adversus is epiphytic on a range of trees with bark not too rough, where its wide spread of whitish roots are notable. Found from Cape Reinga to Fiordland but rare at eye level because of collectors. It prefers moderate to high annual rainfall forest so collected specimens stuck to feijoa trees at suburban homes soon die in the lower humidity.
Technically, it is a tetraploid with 4n=76 chromosomes. D. flavus on the other hand is a more normal diploid with 2n=38 chromosomes but is rare in the South Island and highly sporadic in the North Island.
Drymoanthus adversus
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