Cryptostylis subulata
Tongue Orchid, Duckbill Orchid

PLANT: Erect stem up to one metre or more high when in flower. Evergreen. The stem often supported by the surrounding foliage.

LEAVES: 1 to 3 stalked, narrow lanceolate, upright leaves at the base of the flower stem. Light green.

FLOWERS: Up to 20 well spaced flowers per stem. Each up to 5cm in length and held upside-down so that the labellum is at the top. Labellum oblong, reddish plum at the tip fading to yellowish-green towards the base. Dorsal sepal, lateral sepals and petals yellowish-green, rolled in on themselves to form tight tubes.

FLOWERING TIME: October - January.

HABITAT: Lowland. Amongst sedges, Manuka and ferns in seasonally wet and low-lying areas of peat bogs.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Non Resident Native - Coloniser.

NOTES: An Australian migrant, now firmly established in the Far North.