A genus of about 30 species, most of them from India, the Malay Archipelago, and Australia; a few from the Pacific islands, and one from New Zealand.
1. S. adversus, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 241.—Roots numerous, long, wiry, terete. Stems short, 1–3 in. long, concealed by the imbricated sheathing bases of the leaves. Leaves few, distichous, spreading, 1–2½ in. long, ⅓–¾ in. broad, linear-oblong to elliptic-oblong, obtuse or subacute, jointed above the sheathing base, thick and coriaceous, dark-green, often spotted with purple. Peduncles 1–4 from the axils of the lower leaves, slender, strict, 1–2½ in. long, 5–15-flowered; pedicels slender, erect; bracts small, broadly ovate. Flowers small, ⅛–⅙ in. diam, green spotted with purple. Sepals oblong-ovate, obtuse. Petals similar but slightly narrower. Lip as broad as long, obscurely 3-lobed, very concave, with a fleshy gland on each side; tip obtuse, somewhat hooded. Column very short, stout. Capsule linear-oblong, ½–⅔ in. long.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 263. S. breviscapa, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xiv. (1882) 332.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: Lowland districts from the North Cape southwards, not common. October–November.
5. SPIRANTHES, L. C. Rich.
Terrestrial herbs, with fibrous or tuberous roots. Stems leafy or sometimes leafless at the time of flowering. Flowers small, spirally arranged in a terminal spike. Sepals subequal; the dorsal one erect, more or less connivent with the petals into a hood; lateral free, erect or spreading. Lip sessile or clawed, concave, closely embracing the column at its broad base, often spreading and dilated at the tip; disc usually with tubercles or lamellæ near the base. Column short, terete. Anther erect, ovate or oblong, 2-celled; pollinia after dehiscence pendulous from the gland of the rostellum.
A genus of about 80 species, generally dispersed through most temperate or tropical regions.
1. S. australis, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. t. 823.—Root of several stout and fleshy almost tuberous fibres. Stem variable in size, 6–20 in. high, stout or slender, glabrous or nearly so below the inflorescence. Lower leaves varying from 2 to 6, 2–6 in. long, narrow-linear or linear-lanceolate, acuminate, sheathing at the base; upper ones reduced to sheathing scales. Spike slender, 2–6 in. long or more, spirally twisted, glandular-pubescent. Flowers numerous, small, sessile, close-set or rather distant, 110–18 in. long, rose-pink or white; bracts ovate, acuminate, usually as long as the flowers. Upper sepal oblong, obtuse, connivent with the petals into a hood; lateral free, acute. Lip broadly oblong, concave; the lower part embracing the column and bearing a small rounded gland on each side at the
