1. Eriochilus. 



ORCHIDACEAE. 



133 



caudicle or otherwise to rostellum. Stigma very prominent, cireular or lobulate, its upper 

 margin thickened into a convex rostellum in close contact with the bases of the pollinia. 



N.P. and other parts Mount Lofty Range : Victor Harbor district ; Bordertown ; 

 Nangkita ; Golden Grove ; Yeelanna ; Cummins ; Kangaroo Island ; also all the other 

 States, except Queensland. Sept. -Oct. 



11. ERIOCHILUS, R. Br. 



(Greek erion, wool ; kheilos, a lip). 



Dorsal sepal erect, sligthly incurved, concave ; lateral sepals longer, spreading, elliptical, 

 contracted into a distinct narrow stipes ; petals nearly as long as dorsal sepal, usually 

 narrower, erect or slightly spreading. Labellum much shorter, sessile, on a long erect 

 narrow-oblong base, the margins often produced into erect lateral lobes ; expanded 

 and much recurved above, the terminal part very convex, entire, glandular-villous. 

 Column erect, elongate, narrowly winged. Anther erect, blunt, valvate, 2-celled ; 

 outer valves large, folded over and concealing the small inner valves. Pollinia 8, waxy 

 or granular, 4 pyriform masses in each cell united below into a short acute common apex 

 adherent on each side to a small viscid disk ; the 2 disks situated close together on the 

 upper border of the stigma. — Terrestrial glandular pubescent or hairy (rarely glabrous), 

 herbs, originating from more or less globular underground tubers. Leaf glabrous, solitary, 

 at the base or nearer the middle of the stem, ovate or lanceolate. Flowers pink or white, 

 1 or 2, more rarely multiflowered in a spike or raceme, each subtended by a short loose 

 ovate bract ; no empty stem-bracts above the leaf. 



A small genus with 5 known species, confined to Australia. 



1. E. autumnalis (autumnal), R. Br. 

 Text fig. 32. C. Slender, 7-22 cm. high, 

 with the characters of the genus. Leaf 

 radical, ovate, acute, often small at time 

 of flowering, continuing to develop in size 

 thereafter. Flowers 1-3, pink and white. 

 Dorsal sepal erect, 7-8 mm. long, spathu- 

 late, green or greenish -brown ; lateral sepals 

 12-13 mm. long, white, elliptical-lanceolate. 

 Petals erect, linear falcate. Labellum 

 about as long as petals, the erect part 

 glabrous, often with minute lateral lobes ; 

 the recurved part much wider, ovate, with 

 transverse ridges of reddish hairs. Column 

 about 5f mm., with narrow wings below 

 the stigma. Pollinia 8, lamellate, hard and 

 waxy : an anterior and posterior pair in 

 each anther-cell, the 2 pairs united by 

 their apices into a common sharp point 

 (or false -caudicle) which is adherent to the 

 viscid disk on its own side of the anther- 

 septum. Stigma rectangular or semicir- 

 cular, very prominent and concave, situated 

 iust below the anther ; viscid disks 2, on 

 its upper border, close together on each 

 side of the middle line. No definite ros- 

 tellum. 



N.P. and Mount Lofty Range, widely 

 distributed in other parts of the State ; 

 also in all eastern States and Tasmania. 

 April-May. 



Text-figure 32. — A. Leptoceras fimbriata. 

 B. Lyperanthus nigricans, showin? inflores- 

 cence, basal leaf, and basal bract. C. Erioc- 

 hilus autumnalis. All much reduced. 



12. LEPTOCERAS, Lindl. 



(Greek leptos, thin ; keraa, horn, antenna ; referring to the petals). 

 Dorsal sepal wide, erect, incurved, acute, concave, contracted gradually towards the 

 base ; lateral sepals about equal in length, acute, very narrow, denexed against the ovary. 

 Petals rather longer, erect, pointed, linear cl a v ate, the clubbed part very glandular. 

 Labellum on a short movable claw, much wider than long, 3-lobed ; the lateral lobes 

 large and dome -shaped, fringed or deeply combed anteriorly, with pubescent spots on 

 their upper convex surface ; the middle lobe much smaller, rounded, not recurved, less 

 deeply combed, its upper surface smooth or almost so. Column incurved, rather widely 

 winged. Anther bent forward, 2-celled, valvate. Pollinia 4, in 2 pairs, lamellate. 

 Stigma triangular, its apex deeply sunk between the divergent lobes of the anther. 

 Rostellum poorly developed ; no viscid disk or caudicle. — Terrestrial glabrous herbs, 

 originating from a rounded tuber with fibrous roots, Leaf basal, solitary (rarely 2), sessile, 



