116 The Queensland Naturalist December 1948 
OBERONIA MUELLERIANA Schltr. 
(— O. icidifolia F. Muell. Fragm. v., 96 (186.")); Fitzg. 
Austr. Orch. II., 3 (1888); not of Lindley ) 
By the Rev. H. M. R. RUPP. Northbridge. N.S.W. 
Mueller, in recording this plant (l.c.) on the 
Brisbane River, appears to have felt some doubt as to its 
identity with the species described by Lindley in Gen. and 
Spec. Orch. ( 1840), 1 5. for he says. “O. iridifolia nisi 
species propinqua ad flumen Brisbane’s River nota.” 
(The italics are mine.) Bentham. however, accepted his 
determination, and it passed unchallenged for more than 
forty years. In 1907. however, Shlecbter. in Engler’s 
Bot. Jahrb. xxxix., 61, published the combination “O. 
muelleciana, based on O. icidifolia Fitzg. Austr. Orch. ii. . 
3, non Lindl.” He gave no explanation of his action. 
Fifteen years later, in the same publication, lviii., 63. he 
used the combination O. fitzgecaldiana, based on the 
same reference. Again no explanation was given, nor 
can I trace any subsequent allusion to the subject by him. 
Obviously, however. Schlecter considered that our 
Australian plant, so long known as O. icidifolia, is not 
identical with Lindley’s species, and must receive another 
name. I have made careful investigations into the 
matter, with the result that I am convinced of the correct- 
ness of Schlecter’s opinion. I can find no sound reason, 
however, for his suppression of the combination O. muel- 
teciana in favour of O. fitzgecaldiana ; and I therefore 
propose that in future this plant, admirably figured by 
Fitzgerald, l.c., be known as O. muelleciana Schltr. 
Lindley’s description of O. icidifolia, l.c., is very 
brief: but even so. it includes features which are not 
characteristic of our plant. The following is a free 
English translation. “Leaves broadly ensiform. raceme 
long, many-flowered, two-edged at the base, flowers 
verticillate. bracts fimbriate, sepals reflexed, petals eroded, 
labcllum sub-ovate, obtuse, fimbriate, concave at the 
base, very obscurely 4-lobed.*’ 1 can only interpret this 
allusion to four lobes as referring to the deeply bifid apex 
of the mid-lobe of the labcllum. 
This description is considerably expanded by King 
and Pantlins in Ann. Bor. Gard. Calcutta, Part I., Vol. 
viii. ( 1898). where it is accompanied by a full-page 
plate. The text is as follows: “Stem short. Leaves 
broadly ensiform. acute, 2-10 inches long and .25-1 inch 
broad. Inflorescence longer than the leaves, decurvcd; 
