Microtis parviflora R.Br. 1810 Photo by Cathy Powers and her AUSTRALIAN TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS OTHER FLORA & FAUNA BANJORAH Website
Plant and Flowers in situ, Victoria Australia Photos by Colin Rowan and his Orchid Website
EARLY
Common Name The Small Flowered Microtis - The Slender Onion Orchid
Flower Size 1/8" [3 mm]
Found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand in coastal to lowland open grassland at elevations of 50 to 1300 meters as a medium sized, deciduous, cold growing terrestrial with a single tubular leaf and blooms in the spring and early summer on an erect, 20" [50 cm] tall, racemose, many [10 to 80] flowered inflorescence.
This species is often found in conjunction with ants and may benefit from their presence.
This species is often refered to being a synonym of M unifolia but I have left them separate for now.
Synonyms Microtis benthamiana Rchb.f. 1871; Microtis bipulvinaris Nicholls 1949; Microtis holmesii Nicholls 1949; Microtis javanica Rchb.f. 1857
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1857 M javanica; Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 as M holmesii drawing fide; Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 drawing fide; Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 as M bipulvinaris drawing fide; Die Orchideen #1 1-4 tafel 1&2 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 drawing column only; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 6 321 - 384 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1975 drawing ok; Orchid Australia Vol 11 No 2 1999 photo; Genera Orchidacearum Vol 2 Part One Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2001 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 71 No 10 2002 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 8 2004; Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 photo ok; The Native Orchids of New Zealand, A Colour Field Guide Scanlen & St George 2010 photo fide;
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