Colexso. — Newly -discovered Indigenous Plants, 269 



Obs. I. I have long known this plant, (for upwards of thirty 

 years,) but have never obtained good flowering specimens until 

 this summer (January, 1885). I had, however, always sus- 

 pected it to be a distinct species from the known endemic one 

 (O. Cunninghamii, Hook, fil.), although the specimens I had 

 detected in the woods in autumn travelling were always long 

 past flowering. Having again met with it in those woods near 

 Norsewood in April, 1884 — but, a=5 before, too late ! — I marked 

 those spots, and in visiting them again in January, 1885, 

 (almost purposely,) I was rewarded with finding a few in flower 

 on the top of two racemes, not, however, so many as I could 

 wish, and in localities some miles apart. It now appears that 

 the lowermost perianths on their long raceme, expand first, and 

 so regularly proceed up the stalk, like many other flowers 

 produced in racemes and spikes. Having obtained, after all, 

 only a very small number of really good flowers, (though 

 plenty of both unopened and withered ones,) and being very 

 desirous of sending them preserved in spirits to Kew, I have 

 only dissected one perfect flower. Of this I have given a 

 very minute description, in the hope of its being compared by 

 some one of our working botanists with G. cunninghamii, 

 which, I fear, is daily becoming more scarce. 



Obs. II. I believe this plant to be very distinct from the 

 other long-known New Zealand species, but, unfortunately, I 

 have no specimens of that species left for comparison, and the 

 description of it in our botanical books is neither complete nor 

 minute. The pure white petals of this species are a most striking 

 object when fresh and in its dark habitat ; its lip, too, is widely 

 different from that of ' G. cunninghamii (viz., the description 

 of it given in our books of the New Zealand Flora) ; indeed, its 

 lip is more like that of the Australian species, (j. sesamoides, Br., 

 though the perianth differs' considerably. Of this species a fine 

 drawing, with dissections and description, is given in the " Flora 

 Tasmania? " (Bot. Antarctic Voyage, vol. vi.). 



Genus 10. Microtis, Banks and Sol. 

 1. M. papiUosa, sp. nov. 



Plant rather stout, 1 foot - 1 foot 6 inches high, finely and 

 thickly papillose. Leaf erect, fistulous, ribbed internally, much 

 longer than scape. Spike H - 2 inches, flowers not crowded, 

 sub 30 ; pedicelled ; pedicel short, about 1 line long, stoutish ; 

 bracts oblong, acuminate, acute, 1-nerved, longer than pedicel, 

 adpressed to flower. Perianth, upper sepal orbicular, 3-nerved, 

 concave, apiculate ; lower pair, ovate, acute, recurved ; lateral 

 petals linear-ovate, very obtuse ; labellum oblong, waved and 

 crisped, sub-fimbriate, bifid, sinus broad, truncate at base, 

 apical lump at base of sinus, large, verrucose, continuous to the 



