Flora of New Zealand Series

Raceme of few to many fls; floral bracts small, much < ovary. Per. glab., labellum uppermost; dorsal sepal concave or recurved; lateral sepals narrower, connate to free; petals us. shorter. Labellum ± trulliform, us. erect and concave towards base, recurved distally, sts movable on well-developed claw; calli on limb simple and ± longitudinal. Column short; wings in form of 2 free lateral processes; anther dorsal, erect, little taller than stigma; pollinia ± bilobed in each cell, pollen in ∞ small oblong masses; stigma disc-shaped; rostellum prominent, becoming detached with thread-like stipe to which pollen-masses adhere. Plants terrestrial, glab.; tuber oval, us. produced close to that of previous year. Lf solitary; sheath long; lamina terete, ± hollow, sts very small. Genus of c. 80–100 described spp., the majority Australian, a few in New Caledonia. The relationship of the N.Z. spp. to those in Australia remains obscure pending a critical review of the whole genus.

Fls are often fragrant.

Genoplesium R. Br. Prodr. 1810, 319, a monotypic genus based on G. baueri R. Br., was incorporated in Prasophyllum by Bentham (Fl. Aust. 6, 1873, 336). The name has been widely used for a section composed of those spp. in which lvs are very small at fl., fls are very small, and labellum is articulated and movable on a curved claw (compare Sect. Micranthum Rupp in Vict. Nat., Melb. 66, 1949, 79).

Fig. 30. PRASOPHYLLUM. Lettering as in fig. 20, p. 103; Po = pollen-masses; Stp = stipe; Tu = tuber. In P. patens the nearer lateral sepal and petal have been removed to expose labellum and column. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X2N]