Be 
/ PRASOPHYLLUM R.Br. 
/ XSY TO THE NEW ZEALAND SPECIES 
Labellum sessile, lamina reddish-green 
. ° é 8 « * ° ° © . e ¢ e 2 ee &£¢ 4&4 & 2 
Labellum on avery short, rigid claw, 
lamina broad, white, margins prominen- 
tly crenulate ..°. « « » « » Suttonii 
Labellum on a narrow, movable claw ., 3, 
Margins flat, callus pale, extending 
only to the curve . «+... «+ rogersid 
Margins undulate, callus green, extending 
almost to the tip Sik) #4ue € colensoi 
Labellum green, mucronate, margins entire, 
callus of several inconspicuous ridges 
oe -elien! Sipe ievi¢ € 8 @ @F.% @ 7 @ pumilum 
Labellum dark-~red, acuminate, margins 
ciliate at the tip, callus with a 
prominent linear cleft... nudum 
D. Hatch, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., Vol.76, 
Pt.3, pp.289-293. 
" uv, ws svg as ule sepais, erect at the base and then 
suddenly reflexed between the lateral sepals; adnate plate narrower than 
the dise and not extending much further up than the flexure of the lip; 
margins broad, thin, undulate. Column short; lateral lobes linear-oblong, 
obtuse, almost as long as the narrow erect rostellum, entire. Anther large, 
pointed, not quite equalling the rostellum.—Hook. f. Fl. Tasm. 11 (1860) 
11, t. 111; Benth. Fl. Austral. vi (1873) 339; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 
(1906) 675. 
Nortru {fsranp: Auckland—Swamps at Maungatapere, Whangarei, H. Carse/ Great 
Barrier Island, 7. Kirk! Paeroa Range, near Waiotapu, K. W. Allison! Taranaki— 
Ngaire Swamp, abundant, 7. F.C. December--January. 
Easily distinguished from P. Colensoi by the much greater size, larger paler 
flowers, and longer lip, which has a much more conspicuous recurved lamina, the 
adnate plate not extending to the tip.- The lateral lobes of the column are also much 
longer. It agrees well with Australian specimens of P. patens, except that the spike 
is usually denser. 
2. P. Colensoi Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1 (1853) 241.—Stem stout or 
slender, erect, 4-14 in. high. Leaf sheathing the stem for 2 its length 
or even more; lamina shorter than the spike cr equalling it. Spike 
1-3 in. long, many-flowered; bracts as short as the pedicel, broad, 
obtuse. Flowers about +in. long, dull-green or greenish-brown, slightly 
fragrant; ovary obovoid, gibbous. Upper sepal ovate-oblong, acute, 
concave ; lateral rather longer, connate at the very base, lanceolate, acute, 
curved backwards. Petals linear-oblong, obtuse. Lip shorter than the 
sepals, sessile, ovate, tip acuminate, shortly recurved, adnate plate extend- 
ing almost to the tip, margins undulate. Column very short, lateral lobes 
