You are here
Acianthinae_species
Corybas rivularis (A.Cunn.) Rchb.f.
Nomenclature
-
Subgenus: CorysanthesSection: Nematoceras
-
Synonyms: 10
SUMMARY
Plant: terrestrial herb, tuberous, 2 to 5 cm high when in flower
Leaf: shortly petiolate, but often wraps around the stem and appears sessile, blade 3.5 x 3 cm often smaller, orbicular to oblong-oval (occasionally pandurate), base cordate, apex retuse, apiculate
Peduncle: about as long as ovary
Bract: sub-foliaceous, subulate, recurved, shorter than ovary, c. 9 mm
Ovary: narrow, c. 2 mm wide, c. 1 cm long
Flower: solitary, held above the leaf, 1-1.5 cm high
Dorsal sepal: linear-oblong, acuminate, sometimes mucronate, usually extending beyond labellum, c. 2.5 cm long, widest about 2/3 to apex, dull green often with red markings
Lateral sepals: c. 5-6 cm long, linear-setaceous, often flecked with red
Lateral petals: c. 5-6 cm, linear-setaceous, nearly as long as the lateral sepals, often flecked with red
Labellum: dark red, the outer flexure barely evident so that the apex projects forward well clear of the ovary, lamina narrow, trowel-shaped (like an inverse diamond), tapering to the tip, margins recurved, apex narrowly truncate, retuse, apiculate.
Auricles: not known
Column: “moderate sized” (according to Hooker)
Type: North Island, Wangaroa, R.A. Cunningham 312, November 1826 (Isolectotype K) Labelled in Cunningham's hand and matches the protologue as to locality: "discovered on a shaded mossy bank in the bed of a brisk rivulet, flowing through a deep ravine in the vicinity of the village of Wangaroa, New Zealand".
Distribution: North Island
Ecology: Forming large colonies in wet places - stream banks, cliff face seepages, in the spray zone of waterfalls, deep shaded ravines