Flora of New Zealand Series

Corysanthes unguiculata R. Br. Prodr.  1810,  328.

Corysanthes matthewsii Cheesem. in T.N.Z.I.  31,  1899,  351.

Corysanthes carsei Cheesem. in T.N.Z.I.  44,  1912,  162.

Corybas carsei (Cheesem.) Hatch in T.R.S.N.Z.  75,  1945,  367.

Type locality: Vicinity of Port Jackson, N.S.W.

Plant at fl. c. 1–3 cm. tall. Stem erect. Green lf 1–2.5 cm. long, sessile, ovate, occ. notched on each side. Floral bract much < ovary. Fl. standing directly over lf and often raised well above it. Per. c. 8–10 mm. long, horizontal or drooping. Dorsal sepal spathulate from narrow arching claw, obtuse and ± cucullate, about as long as labellum or shorter, not extending far down its sides; lateral sepals flat and linear, shorter than labellum and ± appressed to it. Petals narrower than sepals and us. shorter. Labellum with circular basal apertures, margins overlapping and ± coherent under dorsal sepal so forming a wide tube that contracts a little from below towards its mouth, sts projecting there in a rounded median lobe; margin entire to minutely denticulate; hair-like calli, mostly retrorse, variously developed along mid-line and just within margin, especially on nerves.

DIST.: N. Known only from a few localities, all north of lat. 38º: near Kaitaia; north of Whangarei; Glen Eden slopes of Waitakere Range; Tauhei near Morrinsville; Moanatuatua near Cambridge.

Shady mossy slopes and peat bog, rare and easily overlooked.

FL. 7–10.

Corybas matthewsii (Cheesem.) Schlechter in Fedde Repert. Spec. nov. Regn. veg. 19, 1923, 23. Type locality: "Vicinity of Kaitaia, Mongonui County, Mr R. H. Matthews". Type: AK 3631.

Corybas carsei. Type locality: "Peaty swamps between Lake Tongonge and the coast, Mongonui County. H. Carse and H. B. Matthews". Type: At both CANTY (Herb. Carse 593/1) and WELT (19038, Herb. Petrie) are specimens labelled by Carse "Type specimen", presumably from the original gathering. Specimens in Herb. Cheeseman at AK were collected much later.

Hatch (T.R.S.N.Z. 75, 1945, 367) merged C. matthewsii with the Australian C. unguiculatus in which he noted "calli confined to the median line of the labellum" in contrast to "calli spreading on either side of the median line" in C. carsei. Other differences between the 2 spp. in N.Z. listed by Hatch (T.R.S.N.Z. 76, 1947, 577–578) are: C. unguiculatus —column stout, erect, basal callus prominent, anther recurved at tip; C. carsei —column slender, incurved, basal callus inconspicuous, anther erect at tip.

Plants collected from the Moanatuatua bog by E. W. E. Butcher from 1961 onwards and attributed to C. carsei show considerable differences in the relative lengths of dorsal sepal and labellum, in the distinctness of the median lobe of the labellum, in the number and distribution of the hair-like calli, and also he reports that the size of the front orifice depends partly on the age of the individual fl. As morphological differences between individuals approach those separating C. carsei from C. unguiculatus it becomes difficult to maintain the 2 spp. The traditional view that C. carsei is ecologically restricted to certain types of peat bogs has led to the very small plants being especially searched for in such places.