127 
ON THE GENUS T AENIOPH YLLUM IN QUEENSLAND 
T. E. HUNT 
One of the best ways of locating epiphytic orchids 
is to watch for their greenish-white roots which generally 
show up quite plainly against the darker background of the 
Imtk of the host. This procedure is essential if the quarry 
happens to he Tiieiiiophyllum, as the members of this 
genus — the Australian ones anyway — have little else but 
roots, the stem being modified to less than pinhead size 
and the solitary leaf on the species which has a leaf is 
also very minute. The plants generally grow in colonies 
on tin' bark of trees on the margins of scrubs, on the 
twigs of shrubs including Lantana, and on vines. Each 
plant has half-a-dozen or so greenish-white roots about 
two inches long which radiate from the central point 
formed by the minute stem. From this point come the 
racemes of small, white, bell-shaped flowers which open 
one at a time so that as each flower lasts for more than 
a week the plant carries flowers for a considerable period. 
Until a few years ago the only species known was T. 
mncUcfi which was recorded from the north of New South 
Wales along the coastal belt to the far north of Queens- 
land. In 1946 the writer received from Mr. Jack Wilkie 
of Habinda five plants of Taeitiophyllum. Two of these 
were T. mudleri but tin 1 others were obviously unnamed 
species which were subsequently named T. wilkianum and 
T. ey mbiforme. Superficially all three species look alike, 
hut even though the flowers are only 2 mm. -3 mm. long, 
they can easily be separated by looking at the labellum 
with an ordinary lens. 
When describing T. rymbiforme the writer expressed 
the opinion that the new species might not be uncommon 
because unless the plants are in flower and the flowers 
are examined closely they could easily be passed over as 
the well-known T. muelleri, more especially as they 
apparently sometimes grow together. Since then, T. 
cyiubiformc has been recorded from several places in the 
far north. 
Now, however, comes the most interesting collection 
of the lot and the occasion for this note. Recently one 
specimen amongst a collection of plants of Taeniophyllum 
which had arrived from Mr. David Hockings of Wnnburra, 
