Flora of New Zealand Series

"Flowering-stem simple, slender, erect, 2-4 inches high. Leaves few, at the base of the stem, spathulate, mostly about 2 lines long. Flowering-stem bearing 2 or 3 minute, empty, distant bracts, besides those subtending the flowers. Flowers nearly sessile, usually 3-6, solitary at intervals along the stem, but often only 1, and then terminal. Calyx-lobes about 1 line long, obtuse. Corolla lilac to purple, about 3 lines long; upper lip narrow, erect, about 1-11/2 line long; lower lip directed forwards, ending abruptly, raised in the centre, and bearing a conical spur beneath (running forwards, and as long as the lip). Stamens short. Anthers connate in front of the very short style."

A common Australian and Tasmanian plant, of which the above description is taken from Rodway (Tasm. Fl. 1903, 145). There are 2 N.Z. gatherings so identified at K. One from "swamps in the Waikato Dist. Jan. 1879" identified by Cheeseman as U. colensoi. The other from "Mungaroa, 978, coll. Miss Kirk, Dec. 1886" sent as U. arnica n. sp. by Kirk. The scapes are up to 10 cm. long, very slender, (1)-2-3-fld, bracts filiform. Fls up to 2 cm. apart; calyx-lobes obtuse to subacute, ± 4 mm. long. The specimens are in rather poor order, and except for the distant fls do not well match Rodway's description. Somewhat similar forms in A were collected by H. B. Matthews near Lake Tangonge (40294) in 1920, and near Kaitaia (40293).