An exercise in gardening patience has paid off at Waikato University.
After a five-year wait, a vulnerable native plant has burst into flower.
The flower of hades (Dactylanthus taylorii), also known as the wood rose, was planted in 2007 by PhD student Liz Overdyck and the Department of Conservation's DrAvibhakta Holzapfel. They faced a long wait because the plant takes at least four years to flower.
Ms Overdyck is ecstatic about the success of the project.
"I thought I'd peek in and have a look and there it was. That's the huge hurdle."
It wasn't clear if the plant was growing, because it grows underground as a parasite.
"It's a parasite in that it lives off the host tree. It doesn't have any green parts," said Ms Overdyck. The rare plant, which grows only in New Zealand, requires little food and doesn't damage the host tree.
There is a lot of information for the Hamilton Botanical Society and DoC to discover about the Dactylanthus, including how the separate male and female plants are pollinated. It is believed the sweet and unusual nectar attracts native New Zealand bats, also a rare species.
"We can learn so much more about this plant, such as what chemical properties in the nectar attract pollinators and which animals disperse seed," said Mr Holzapfel.
The flowers emerged in a circle, so could have been from one seed. Ms Overdyck said hundreds were planted and it is possible more of the seeds might still flower.
During the five-year wait for the wood rose to bloom, Ms Overdyck planted other rare plants in the university's threatened plant garden.
