Microtis parviflora

Detailed description

Terrestrial, glabrous, colony forming, fleshy, tuberous bright green to yellow-green perennial herb. Plants at flowering 100–400–(700) mm tall. Tubers globose to ovoid. Stem erect, terete. Leaf solitary, usually overtopping inflorescence, bright green to yellow-green, closely sheathing stem for much of length, linear-terete, hollow, 400 × 8 mm long. Inflorescence a raceme up to 300 × 10 mm. Flowers 10–80, up to 3 mm diameter, shortly-stalked and closely spaced, more or less overlapping. Perianth green to yellow-green, segments up to 2.2 mm long, widely spreading, thick and fleshy. Dorsal sepal 1.5–2.0 mm long, ovate, erect or projecting forwards, cucullate, concave, column-embracing, acute, apex shortly recurved, smaller than ovary at flowering; lateral sepals shorter and narrower, subacute, strongly deflexed, usually curled under. Petals shorter still, narrowly obtuse, erect, usually partially hidden under dorsal sepal. Labellum sessile, tongue-like, up to 2 mm long, green or yellow-green, more or less triangular-cordate, decurved but more less slightly projecting forwards, broader at base narrowing to an obtuse apex terminated by a down-turned apiculus; margin entire to sinuate (with marginal cells occasionally, slightly enlarged), smooth; anterior callus usually present, somewhat variable in size; basal calli prominent, dark green, ovate, paired and parallel, surrounding a distinct small pouched bulge on the under side of the labellum. Column short, obtuse, base of column wider than stigma, otherwise narrowing behind stigma, wings membranous throughout. Anther terminal, erect, situated above stigma, hemispherical, pollinia spheroidal, pollen granular. Stigma broadly ovate; rostellum ovate. Capsules broadly ovoid, ovoid-ellipsoid, brown when ripe.