Cyrtostylis
Terrestrial glabrous herbs, arising from small tubers. Leaf solitary, sessile, ground-hugging, broad; flowering stem elongate, slender, bracts only subtending flowers. Flowers 1 or more, with column uppermost, usually pale-coloured; dorsal sepal narrow-lanceolate, erect, incurved, concave; lateral sepals and petals very narrow, spreading, about as long as dorsal sepal. Labellum sessile, more or less oblong, flat, about as long as petals and sepals, undivided, with 2 prominent, bead-like basal glands and 2 flat longitudinal ridges extending nearly to apex. Column elongate, incurved, prominently winged in its upper part, about half as long as labellum.
5 species, found only in Australia and New Zealand, 2 occurring in Victoria. Cyrtostylis differs from Acianthus in having ground-hugging leaves with a light green, glistening undersurface, and a number of floral characteristics including prominent wings on the column, and perianth segments similar in length, not terminated by a long tail-like appendage (Jones & Clements 1987).
Entwisle, T.J. (1994). Orchidaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 740–901. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
