The Genus Corybas in Victoria 
by Peter Uhlherr 
The genus Corybas Salisb. contains 
upward of 50 species. These are dis- 
tributed widely from the Himalayan 
foothills east to the Philippines and 
south east through the Malay Archi- 
pelago, New Guinea, Australia and 
New Zealand. The genus also occurs 
in the Polynesian islands. 
Holttum (7) lists 5 species for 
Malaysia. Rogers (8) states that the 
greatest development of Corybas 
appears to occur in New Guinea, 
where 19 species have been recorded. 
Australia has 9 species and New 
Zealand has 7 (6). Of the 7 New 
Zealand species 3 are related to Aus- 
tralian species and 4 to Malayan 
species. It seems unusual that none of 
the species occurring in Australia 
resemble the Malayan species. Hatch 
(6) concludes that the Australian 
forms probably became isolated very 
early in the development of the genus 
and so differentiated independently. 
The 9 Australian species are listed with 
authors and synonyms in Table 1. 
Their distribution by states and their 
flowering periods are given in Table 2. 
Of the 9 Australian species, 5 occur 
in Victoria and none of these are en- 
demic to that state. Willis (9) lists 
references to drawings and photo- 
graphs of all Victorian species. How- 
ever, since the publication of Willis' 
Handbook in 1962, a number of illus- 
trations of Corybas have appeared. 
References to these more recent illus- 
trations are listed in Table 3. This list 
is not necessarily exhaustive. 
Despite the many new and excellent 
illustrations listed above, the author 
feels that identification of the species 
Table 1 
Corybas: List of species and synonyms 
1. Corybas abellianus, A. W. Dockrill, Nth. Qld. Nat., 24 (112), 1 (1955). 
2. Corybas aconitiftorus, Salisb., Parad. Lond., (1805), t83. 
Corysanthes bicalcarata, R. Br., Prodr. Flor. Nov. Holl., 328 (1810). 
Corysanthes cheesemannii, Hook. f. ex T. Kirk., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 3, 180 (1871). 
3. Corybas diemenicus (Lindl.) H. M. R. Rupp et W. H. Nicholls, Proc. Linn. See. 
N.S.W., 53, 551 (1928). 
Corysanthes diemenica Lindl., Gen & Spec. Orchid. Plant., 393 (1840). 
Corysanthes fimbriata, R. Br. var. diemenica (Lindl.) Benth., Flor. Aust. 6, 
351 (1873). 
4. Corybas dilatatus, (H. M. R. Rupp et W. H. Nicholls), H. M. R. Rupp, Proc. 
Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 53, 551 (1928). 
Corysanthes dilatata, H. M. R. Rupp et W. H. Nicholls, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 
53, 87 (1928). 
5. Corybas fimbriatus (R. Br.) Reichenb. f., Beitr. syst. Pflk., 42 (1871). 
Corysanthes fimbriata R. Br., Prodr. Flor. Nov. Holl., 328 (1810). 
6. Corybas fordhamii (H. M. R. Rupp) H. M. R. Rupp, Vict. N^at., 59, 61 (1942). 
Corysanthes fordhamii H. M. R. Rupp, Vict. Nat., 58, 83 (1941). 
7. Corybas pruinosus (Cunn.) Reichenb. f., Beitr. syst. Pflk., 43 (1871). 
Corysanthes pruinosa Cunn., N.S.W. Mag., 1, 41 (1833). 
8. Corybas undulatus (Cunn.) H. M. R. Rupp et W. H. Nicholls, Proc. Linn. Soc. 
N.S.W. 53, 551 (1928). 
Corysanthes undulata Cunn., N.S.W. Mag., 1, 41 (1833). 
9. Corybas unguiculatus (R. Br.) Reichenb. f., Beitr. syst. Pflk., 43 (1871). 
Corysanthes unguiculata R. Br., Prodr. Flor. Nov. Holl., 328 (1810). 
Corysanthes Matthewsii Cheesemn., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 31, 351 (1899). 
Corybas Matthewsii (Cheesmn.) Schltr., Fedde. Repert, 19, 23 (1923). 
February, 1969 
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