ae ee ee ee Oe ee 
MARCH, 1923 | THE ORCHID REVIEW. 67 
ORCHIDS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. 
E are pleased to note that further ‘‘ Contributions to the Orchidology 
of Australia and New Zealand,” by Dr. R. S. Rogers, M.A., have 
been published (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Austr., vol. xlvi., pp. 148-159). The 
new species described include Diuris brevifolia, a plant that has long been 
confused with D. sulphurea, which it superficially resembles, but from 
which it differs in its short setaceous and relatively numerous leaves, in its 
much smaller flowers, and in its labellum, which is at least as long as the 
dorsal sepal, and bears two raised longitudinal lines. Prasophyllum Brainei, 
named after Mr. A. B. Braine, an ardent collector and student of Victorian 
Orchids, approaches the green forms of P. fuscum, but materially differs 
from it in the much less complicated structure of the labellum and shorter 
lateral appendages of the latter. 
Pterostylis humilis was collected by Mr. H. B. Matthews, who states 
that his specimens were removed from their natural habitat near the base 
of Ruapehu, within three miles of perpetual snow, and cultivated in 
Auckland, 200 miles north of their native locality. He thinks that the 
change to abnormal conditions may have produced a dwarfed growth in the 
plant. Dr. Rogers remarks that “it is probable that the scape becomes 
elongated after pollination, so as to assist in the maturation of the fruit, as 
happens in the case of many Australian Orchids, notably in the genus 
Corysanthes. On the other hand, it must be remembered, that in certain 
other species of the genus, dwarfed specimens are by no means infrequent. 
This is particularly true of C. cucullata, where dwarf forms are often to be 
found growing side by side with normal plants. These show such a 
departure from the type that even experienced botanists like Sir J. D. 
Hooker and Robert Brown fell into error and described them as separate 
species.” 
Caladenia pumila, a new species, is a very hairy plant of low stature. It 
differs from C. Patersoni principally in its dwarfed habit, in the absence of 
tentacles to the perianth and segments, and in the absence of definite 
glandular tips to those segments. Prasophyllum Frenchii var. Tadgellianum 
and P. australe var. viscidum are described as new varieties, as also is 
Caladenia carnea var. aurantiaca, in which the contrasting colours give this 
dainty little species a very characteristic appearance and charm. 
Interesting notes are given regarding Dendrobium dicuphum, Spiranthes 
australis, and Thelymitra longifolia, the latter representing not only the 
highest elevation, but also the furthest north at which any Orchids have 
been recorded in S. Australia. Thelmitra urnalis was described in 1882, but 
has never been reported since its discovery until 1921, when it was found 
by Dr. and Mrs. Rogers. It may possibly be a hybrid of T. antennifera. 
