G. Hectori, Buch. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xix. (1887) 214, is shown by the specimens in Mr. Buchanan's herbarium to be a Prasophyllum, probably P. patens, R. Br.
1. G. sesamoides, R. Br. Prodr. 330.—Root very long and tuberous. Stem stout or slender, 1–2½ ft. high, mottled grey; sheathing scales loose, truncate or with an obtuse point. Raceme 2–8 in. long, many-flowered; bracts scarious, broadly ovate, shorter than the pedicels. Flowers brownish-white, about ⅔ in. long without the ovary, drooping. Perianth ventricose, gibbous at the base, shortly 5-lobed; lobes short and broad, ovate, constricted at the base. Lip slightly shorter than the perianth; lamina oblong, with 2 thick ridges up the median line, which coalesce into one near the tip, margins much crisped and undulate. Column elongate, almost as long as the lip, angular, narrowly winged above; stigma a large protuberance at the very base.—Hook f. Fl. Tasm. ii. 31, t. 126; Benth. Fl. Austral. vi. 309; Fitzgerald, Austral. Orch. ii. pt. 5; Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxvi. (1894) 272.
North Island: Auckland—Kaitaia, R. B. Matthews! Northern Wairoa, T.F.C.; Great Barrier Island, Kirk! near Auckland, T.F.C.; East Cape district, Adams and Petrie! South Island: Westland—Kelly's Creek, Petrie! Sea-level to 1500 ft. December–January.
The long slender column at once separates this from the following species, which it otherwise much resembles. In Australia it ranges from Queensland to Tasmania.
2. G. Cunninghamii, Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. i. 251.—Habit and appearance of G. sesamoides but usually smaller and more slender, 1–3 ft. high or even more. Stem brownish, often striped and spotted with purple or fawn colour. Raceme 6–10 in. long, very many-flowered, pedicels slender, ⅕–⅓ in.; bracts ovate, acute, scarious. Flowers brownish-white, ½ in. long without the ovary, drooping. Perianth tubular, much swollen at the base, split half-way down on the anterior face, shortly 5-lobed; lobes broad, ovate-deltoid, acute. Lip rather shorter than the perianth; lamina narrow trowel-shaped with 2 papillose ridges running up the middle and uniting near the tip; margins involute, membranous, much crisped and undulate. Column very short, barely ¼ the length of the lip.—Handb. N.Z. Fl. 263; Petrie. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv. (1893) t. 20, f. 1–4. G. leucopetala, Col. in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xviii. (1886) 268.
North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Chatham Islands: Not uncommon in dark shaded places, but easily overlooked. Sea-level to 2000 ft. Perei; Makaika. November–January.
The starchy thick and tuberous root was formerly collected by the Maoris and eaten, especially in the Urewera district.
3. G. minor, Petrie in Trans. N.Z. Inst. xxv. (1893) 273, t. 20, f. 5–7.—Stem umber-brown, not spotted, very slender, 8–15 in.
