Rare orchid species discovered that blooms entirely underground

Rhizanthella is an extraordinary orchid that lives its entire life underground, a fact which highlights its unique and critical conservation status.

It is buried below ground, and has no leaves, and survives by feeding on nutrients from a fungus that gets its food from the soil and by connecting with the roots of the broom bush, Melaleuca uncinata.

Rhizanthella was a global phenomenon when it was initially discovered by a farmer furrowing a field in Western Australia in 1928.

However, it was difficult to locate and was commonly found by searching areas with the right habitat and carefully scraping away soil, searching for the blooms buried underneath-tiny reddish flowers wrapped in creamy-pink bracts.

The bloom also has a warm aroma and may be pollinated by termites or tiny flies.

The botanist Kingsley Dixon at the University of Western Australia is desperately trying to conserve the orchid by growing the fungus with the orchid seed in a lab.

This extraordinary Australian genus exhibits a unique biology that is highly vulnerable to extinction after suffering habitat loss and drought caused by climate breakdown, underlining the urgency for conservation.