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Acianthinae_species
Corybas × dowlingii D.L.Jones
SUMMARY
Plant: terrestrial tuberous herb growing in colonies
Leaf: cordate to orbicular, 15-35 mm long, 15- 35 mm wide, dark green adaxially, slightly reddish pellucid abaxially, apex apiculate
Peduncle: c. 1-2 mm long
Bract: closely sheathing, narrowly ovate, 2.5-5 mm long, 2- 3 mm wide, acuminate
Ovary: erect, straight or incurved, 4-9 mm long, c. 2-2.5 mm wide
Flower: solitary, erect with an incurved dorsal sepal, 26-32 mm long, 14-16 mm wide, dark purplish red with whitish areas in the labellum, sometimes obscurely striped
Dorsal sepal: concave, curved throughout, ovate-oblong when flattened, 15-23 mm long, 6-10 mm wide, dark reddish purple faint longitudinal striae, narrowed at base, apex apiculate
Lateral sepals: linear-tapered, 2-2.5 mm long, c. 0.5 mm wide, acute, porrect or projected upwards against the base of the labellum.
Lateral petals: linear-tapered, c. 0.5 mm long, c. 0.3 mm wide, acute, falcate, obtuse, hidden behind the labellum
Labellum: much shorter than, and mostly hidden by the dorsal sepal, translucent white with red suffusions on the anterior; labellum tube c. 4 mm long, erect then recurved sharply and expanded into a lamina; lamina oblong-elliptic when viewed from the front, 10-12 mm long, 5-6 mm wide, translucent white with reddish suffusions and some red stippling, with a prominent, deep anterior pocket which has a thick intruding fold on the anterior side, the outer margins strongly revolute, the inner surface mostly smooth, the outer surface smooth or with a few short hispid hairs; callus greatly thickened, strongly folded medially
Spurs: conical, 2 mm long, divergent and without nectar, short side lobes, truncated, colluding over their entire length and marked by large longitudinal streaks of wine red.
Column: short, 1 to 1.5 mm high, white, hidden in the tube formed by the lip, callus lingulate, erect, 0.5 mm high by 0.7 mm wide, densely colored, stigma prominent, oval and concave (0.3 × 0.5 mm), anther cucullate, erect, oval to deltoid anthers, pollinia × 2.
Type: New South Wales: Alum Mountain, Bulahdelah, 4 June 2003, Dowling 328 (holo CANB; iso NSW, BRI).
Distribution: This species is currently known from three localities in New South Wales, viz Freemans Waterhole, south of Newcastle, in the vicinity of Port Stephens and on Alum Mountain, Bulahdelah. Its exact distribution is uncertain and more than likely the species occurs outside these areas.
Ecology: The new species forms clonal colonies and grows in gullies in tall open forest in well-drained gravelly soil.
Elevation: 10-200 m.