Herb: Potato Orchid
Latin name: Gastrodia sesamoides
Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)
Edible parts of Potato Orchid:Root - raw or cooked. It resembles a beetroot in flavour but is watery and insipid. The root can be up to 15cm long and 4cm thick. Leaves. Eaten by the Australian Aborigines in Tasmania.
Description of the plant:
Habitat of the herb:Open forest and scrub from the coast to the sub-alpine zone, mainly north of latitude 42°s, in the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
Propagation of Potato Orchid:Seed - surface sow, preferably as soon as it is ripe, in the greenhouse and do not allow the compost to dry out. The seed of this species is extremely simple, it has a minute embryo surrounded by a single layer of protective cells. It contains very little food reserves and depends upon a symbiotic relationship with a species of soil-dwelling fungus. The fungal hyphae invade the seed and enter the cells of the embryo. The orchid soon begins to digest the fungal tissue and this acts as a food supply for the plant until it is able to obtain nutrients from decaying material in the soil. It is best to use some of the soil that is growing around established plants in order to introduce the fungus, or to sow the seed around a plant of the same species and allow the seedlings to grow on until they are large enough to move. Division in autumn. The plant is very intolerant of root disturbance, any moving or dividing should be attempted in the autumn, keep a large ball of soil around the plant.
Cultivation of the herb:Open forest and scrub from the coast to the sub-alpine zone, mainly north of latitude 42°s, in the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
Medicinal use of Potato Orchid:None known
Known hazards of Gastrodia sesamoides:None known
Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.