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Two peculiar species from New Zealand are teetering on the edge of extinction. Could their fates be intertwined?
Few parasites exhibit the sinister beauty of the Hades flower. This rootless, leafless plant hides beneath the dense foliage of New Zealand’s forests, latching onto trees and siphoning their nutrients. As it depletes its host, the Hades leaves behind stunning scars—ornate burls etched into the wood. These intricate patterns have earned it the moniker 'wood rose.'
Once abundant, the wood roses were prized by collectors who preserved them with varnish for decorative purposes. However, deforestation and invasive species have pushed the Hades flower to the brink of extinction. By the late 2010s, its habitat had dwindled to just four percent of its original size. Scientists estimated only a few thousand plants survived, though exact numbers were uncertain. Despite blooming annually for two months, the Hades’ delicate shoots are quickly devoured by possums and pigs, making the subterranean plant nearly impossible to monitor.
With the exact number of Hades flowers remaining unknown, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has been urgently seeking ways to safeguard the species. In the 1990s, as part of a recovery initiative, they explored relocating the plant but struggled to identify a suitable area with sufficient bat populations or other pollinators. Protecting the Hades flower, however, is just one of many pressing conservation challenges on the island.
New Zealand is a hotspot for endangered species. Due to the archipelago’s prolonged isolation throughout human history, its native flora and fauna were poorly prepared to defend against the arrival of settlers. In recent years, conservationists have been puzzled about how to rescue the Hades flower. Then, by chance, they stumbled upon a potential answer. Could another endangered species—the hapless kakapo bird—be the key?
The kakapo is undeniably adorable—resembling a mix between a parakeet, an owl, and a Muppet—but its evolutionary shortcomings are glaring. This bird is flightless, nesting on the ground in exposed areas rather than concealed spots. Nocturnal by nature, it navigates forests using facial whisker-like feathers. Adding to its vulnerabilities, the kakapo emits a potent musky odor that attracts predators. These traits—slow nighttime movements combined with an irresistible scent—made it an easy target for humans, dogs, cats, and other predators. Once widespread, only 124 kakapos remain today.
For researchers studying endangered species, one of the greatest hurdles is understanding how historical animal populations behaved in ecosystems that no longer exist. How did species interact? What were their dietary habits? Which were allies, and which were adversaries? It’s like piecing together a movie with crucial scenes missing. Fossilized feces, or coprolite, serve as invaluable clues. These mineralized droppings, hardened over millennia, provide insights into ancient diets, behaviors, and relationships, helping scientists reconstruct these ecological 'deleted scenes.'
In 2010, paleoecologist Jamie Wood and his team ventured into Honeycomb Hill Caves in northwestern New Zealand’s South Island to collect coprolite for a project on extinct bird diets. Among the organic remnants, they discovered something unique: spherical pollen grains with large, hole-like structures and raised edges, resembling the suckers on an octopus’s tentacles. Under the microscope, Wood immediately recognized these as traces of the Hades flower.
“I was aware the plant no longer existed on the South Island,” he explains. “But it wasn’t until we delved into its ecology that we grasped the full importance of this discovery.” Radiocarbon dating showed the coprolite was 900 years old, and its origin? A kakapo.
Researchers had no prior knowledge of a connection between the parrot and the plant. However, as Wood studied the Hades flower’s life cycle and its challenges, he realized the pollen in the coprolite revealed a forgotten chapter. Before human settlement and predators disrupted their habitat, kakapos consumed the Hades flower and transported its pollen on their feathery whiskers, aiding the plant’s reproduction.
If the two species were brought together again, could the parrots resume their historical role in pollinating the plants? This question arose when the Department of Conservation’s Kakapo Recovery team moved eight kakapos to Little Barrier Island, one of the last sanctuaries for the Hades flower, off North Island’s coast. Early one April morning in 2012, handlers captured the birds manually, placing them in carriers lined with damp towels and stocked with apples and carrots for nourishment. Their arrival a day later marked the first time in decades that these two unique species coexisted.
Releasing the kakapos on the island, free from extensive human intervention, is a crucial step in their recovery. “We need to determine if they can thrive independently,” conservation minister Kate Wilkinson stated in a New Zealand newspaper. “This effort could be pivotal in ensuring the species’ long-term survival.”
As for the kakapo’s potential role in aiding the Hades flower’s propagation, it remains uncertain whether this pairing will succeed. Currently, there’s scant evidence that the birds have noticed the flowers. Yet, scientists remain hopeful, believing that in the shadowy forest—as these peculiar birds navigate toward the faintly emerging flowers—ancient bonds may still endure.
This story was first published in mental_floss magazine. Grab a complimentary issue here or explore our iPad version.
