Common name: East Lynne Midge-orchid
Genoplesium vernale D.L.Jones APNI* Synonyms: Corunastylis vernalis (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem. APNI*
Description: Terrestrial tuberous herb.
Leaf 10–18 cm long, 0.15–0.3 cm wide, terete, dark green, reddish at the base; lamina closely sheathing throughout, 10–15 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, oblanceolate-subulate ending 5–20 mm below the first flower.
Inflorescence 15–25 cm tall bearing 10–25 flowers in a densely crowded spike 2–4 cm long. Flowers 3.5 4.5 mm diam., dark purplish black, porrect to semi-nodding; lateral sepals obliquely erect. Ovary linear obovoid, to c. 2.6 mm long, slightly curved, green. Dorsal sepal cucullate, broadly ovate when flattened, 3–3.5 mm long, 2–2.3 mm wide, concave; margins with minute glandular cilia, apex acuminate. Lateral sepals nearly parallel , narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 4–4.5 mm long, 1.2–1.3 mm wide, base gibbous, margins entire, distal margins involute, apex narrowly and bluntly acute, sometimes a vestigial gland present. Petals porrect to spreading, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, c. 3 mm long, c. 12 mm wide, margins with minute glandular cilia, apex long-acuminate. Labellum Labellum attached by a short claw to the apex of the column foot; lamina narrowly oblong-elliptic, 2.5–2.8 mm long, 1.2–1.5 mm wide, shallowly curved throughout suddenly contracted to an apiculate apex, externally papillate, margins denticulate, distal margins slightly irregular, with minute glandular cilia, Callus extending nearly to the labellum apex, occupying most of the ventral surface of the lamina, oblong, sometimes constricted above the middle, fleshy, dark purple to brownish black, base yellow, surface colluviate, apex entire. Column c. 2 mm long, c. 1.8 mm wide. Wings lobed about halfway to the base, the lobes not divergent; posterior lobe linear, whitish, obtuse; anterior lobe ovate-lanceolate, dark red, acute, the margins irregularly denticulate. Anther c. 0.8 mm long, with a linear to filiform rostrum about 0.3 mm long. Stigma broadly elliptic, c. 0.5 mm long, c. 0.5 mm wide. Pollinarium c. 1 mm long; pollinia c. 0.8 mm long, yellow, granular, caudicle ligulate, c. 0.15 mm long; viscidium c. 0.2 mm wide.
Capsules erect, narrowly obovoid, 4–5 mm long, c. 0.3 mm wide.
Distribution and occurrence: Restricted to a narrow geographic range from near Mogo to west of Ulladulla. Occurs in dry sclerophyll forest.
NSW subdivisions: SC
Threatened species: NSW BCA: Vulnerable; Commonwealth EPBC: Vulnerable
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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