NATUR E
September–October 2015 19ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS GASKIN /
Strigops habroptilus
/ Mystacina tuberculata
T
HIS IS a
tale of two
strange and
fascinating species,
both of which
evolved unusual life
histories during
millions of years of isolation on the
islands of New Zealand – two species
that, we now know, once had a close
ecological relationship.
The first is the kakapo: a large,
fragrant, nocturnal bird, and the world’s
only flightless parrot – its numbers
have dwindled to about 125, most of
which are found on Codfish Island, a
small speck off the south of the South
Island. Here the kakapo’s breeding suc-
cess is linked to the infrequent fruitingof a single tree, the rimu (see AG 115).
The second, you’re less likely to have
heard of. It’s Dactylanthus taylorii, also
known as the Hades flower or wood
rose, or as pua o te reinga to the Māori,
which means ‘flower of the underworld’.
It’s a parasitic plant, which can’t photo-
synthesise and has no leaves or roots. It
spends most of its life underground,
where it lives swaddled around the roots
of the native trees from which it draws
its water and nutrients.
For just a few weeks in early autumn
each year, Dactylanthus plants throw up
large numbers of dull pinky-brown
flowers, which emerge from the ground
around the host trees. These stud the
forest floor, emit a musky, fruity scent
and produce copious quantities ofnectar to attract the New Zealand lesser
short-tailed bat, the plant’s key pollina-
tor. Unusually for a bat (another NZ
quirk), this species spends much of its
time crawling on the ground and
burrowing in leaf litter.
But a study of fossilised dung or
‘coprolites’ found in a cave in the
north-western corner of the South
Island in 2012 suggests the plant once
had other pollinators, too.
Researchers led by Dr Jamie Wood
at Landcare Research in Canterbury
have revealed that a series of 900-year-
old kakapo droppings are packed with
Dactylanthus pollen, suggesting that these
birds once consumed its nectar and
helped to pollinate the flowers. Similar
to the kakapo, Dactylanthus has been
reduced to just 4 per cent of its historic
range – but both species were once
common across the North Island and
the north of the South Island.
“Kakapo and potentially many other
nectar-drinking birds once fed on the
nectar of Dactylanthus flowers, and may
also have acted as pollinators or seed
dispersers for the plant,” Jamie says.
“Coprolites are one of the only ways to
reconstruct important pre-human
ecological relationships, such as pollina-
tion and seed dispersal, which must be
restored to conserve these species over
the long term.”
Intriguingly, in 2012 eight kakapo
were reintroduced to Little Barrier
Island, 80km north of Auckland on the
North Island, one of the remaining
Dactylanthus strongholds. This meant
that the plant and its historic pollinator
were once again reunited.
In 2015, for the first time, a series
of camera traps has been installed on
the island to attempt to find out if the
ancient ecological relationship has
been restored. It remains to be seen if
any of the cameras have yet photo-
graphed instances of kakapo feeding
on Hades flowers.JOHN PICKRELL is the editor of
AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC. Follow him on
Twitter at: twitter.com/john_pickrellA relationship restored
Historic ties. The New Zealand lesser short-tailed
bat feeds on the rare Hades flower, which scientists
believe may also have been pollinated by kakapo.The study of fossilised dung has revealed a lost link between
New Zealand’s kakapo and the parasitic Hades flower
- one of the world’s weirdest blooms.