This rare orchid lives and flowers entirely underground – here’s how it thrives

Rhizanthella: This rare orchid lives and flowers entirely underground (Image: Canva)

Do you know there is a type of orchid that flowers completely underground. Strange right? Most orchids have leaves and make their own food, but not 'Rhizanthella'. They get their nutrients from fungi, which get them from broom bush roots (Melaleuca uncinata).

Discovery of Rhizanthella

In 1928, a farmer was working the fields in Western Australia when the orchid was first discovered. The search of such rare flowers voids deep digging and they still hide within the earth. The scientists are researching on this type of orchid.

Oftentimes this orchid is covered by the creamy-pink boughs, bearing the tiny reddish blooms. The flowers are familiar to produce a sweet and vanilla-scent smell that might lure pollinators which include termites and small flies.

An Underground Partnership

Rhizanthella orchids get food with a little help from their friends which is fungi. These fungi hook orchid up to the roots of broom bush plants (Melaleuca uncinata). This secret system sends vital food to the orchid, so it can live its whole life underground.

Scientists say that to keep the orchid around, we have to protect the plants it lives near and the dirt around it.

Scientists to the Rescue

There are only five types of Rhizanthella, and they are all in danger. Habitat loss and climate change are really messing with them. They need just the right soil, fungi and host plants to survive.

Scientists such as Kingsley Dixon from the University of Western Australia are trying to grow the orchid and its fungi in labs. The idea is to copy the broom bush's environment so they can plant the orchids back in the wild.

Why Rhizanthella Captivates Science?

Rhizanthella challenges conventional understanding of plant biology, showcasing an extraordinary adaptation to life underground. Its secretive life, unusual way of attracting pollinators and rarity make it a wonder of nature and a reminder to protect endangered species.