Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: "Bay of Plenty, Colenso". Type: K(?).

Plant at fl. c. 5–20 cm. tall. Stem erect, slender. Green cauline lf sessile, us. about ½ way up stem, c. 1–2 cm. long, ovate to ovate-oblong, acute to subacute, ± cordate at base, occ. shallowly notched. Petiolate lf from horizontal rhizome emerging through a cylindric scale-lf and us. distant from flowering stem; lamina similar to that of cauline lf. Empty floral bract us. present between lf and solitary fl. but occ. 2 fls develop. Per. c. 1–1.5–(2) cm. diam., the outer surfaces with short, fine, ± glandular pubescence. Sepals lanceolate, acute; dorsal greenish, arched over column; lateral whitish, widespreading. Petals similar to sepals. Labellum much shorter and ± hidden under dorsal sepal; disc with transverse reddish stripes, calli yellow. Column reddish inside, wings membr. and pale.

DIST.: N., S.

Under forest or scrub from Coromandel Peninsula southwards.

FL. 11–1–(2).

A short, slender rhachilla is us. present at the base of the fl. The fleshy rhizome, of 3–4 mm. diam., has internodes to 2 cm. long between scale-lvs, petiolate lvs and flowering stems. It is ± constricted at nodes, and is sympodial, but older parts are so fragile that the whole branching system is difficult to trace.