Flora of New Zealand Series

Type locality: View Hill, Oxford, Canterbury. Type: CHR 181661.

Plant at fl. to c. 40 cm. tall. Lf 7–15 mm. wide, channelled and ± keeled, forming rather well-defined V in T.S. Infl. to c. 6-fld. Per. c. 15 mm. long, between pink and blue, without stripes or spots. Sepals, petals and labellum subsimilar, elliptic, sepals more acute. Column-arms terete to plano-convex in T.S.; cilia ∞, us. very pale yellow, arising from sides, back and top of arm, mostly standing erect and above post-anther lobe; post-anther lobe tall, overtopping anther at least at sides, erect, truncate sts quite obliquely forming a deep cleft at back, us. dark red towards top, margin ± yellow, ± denticulate but not thickened or involute, often ending in front in two sharp points.

DIST.: N., S., St.

From c. lat. 38º southwards, widespread in open and grassy places.

FL. 11–12.

This is the plant well illustrated, with the name T. pachyphylla, by Hatch T.R.S.N.Z. 79, 1952, Pl. 79, D–H, the figures based on drawings by J. Bruce Irwin of plants collected at Waitaanga, between Mt Messenger and Ohura, in Taranaki.

When the top of the post-anther lobe is very obliquely truncate the resemblance to T. formosa increases.