Citation: Lindley, Gert. & Sp. Orchid. Pl. 508 (1840).

Synonymy: D. pedunculata sensu J. Weber & Bates in J. Black, Fl. S. Aust. 415 (1979), non R. Br.; D. behrii Schldl., Linnaea 20:572 (1849); D. pedunculata R. Br. var. gigantea Nicholls, Vict. Nat. 49:174 (1932).

Common name: Cowslip, golden moths, snake orchid, yellow cowslip.

Description:
Slender, glabrous, usually 20-40 cm high; tubers obconical; leaves generally 5-7, linear, 10-15 cm long.

Flowers solitary, or 2-4 on very slender pedicels, racemose, canary-yellow, with brown or greenish-brown tinges on the outer surface of the perianth-segments and the labellum at the base; dorsal sepal c. 14 mm long, yellow, broadly ovate, erect, much shorter than the other segments of the perianth, also shorter than the labellum, lateral sepals 20-23 mm long, free, green, linear-lanceolate, channelled on the inner side, spreading below the labellum; petals 16-17 mm long, spreading in the mature flower; lamina elliptical, yellow, the stalks green, linear, c. 6 mm long; labellum yellow, c. 18 mm long and c. 12 mm wide, almost flat in the mature flower, tip very blunt, spreading; lateral lobes falcate, narrow-lanceolate, toothed on their outer margins, 6-7 mm long, recurved outwards; mid-lobe on a contracted base, ovate-rhomboid, c. 3 times as long as the lateral ones; the lamina with 2 raised rather widely separated pubescent longitudinal lines on the base, the lines often laminate, ending dentately a little beyond the contracted part, then continued as a single line or fold towards the tip; anther flat or almost so, shorter than the viscid disk; lateral appendages narrowly ovate-lanceolate, very acuminate, margins slightly toothed, same height as the anther.

Published illustration: Gray (1966) Victorian native orchids 1:37; Pocock (1972) Ground orchids of Australia, pl. 68; Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 199.

Distribution:  Occurs singly or in small groups, once widespread and common in natural grasslands but becoming rare. Diuris penduculata R. Br. was the name previously used for S. Aust. plants but this is now known to be confined to N.S.W. (Clements, 1985).   N.S.W.; Vic.; Tas. Conservation status: native Flowering time: Aug. — Oct.

SA Distribution Map based on current data relating to specimens held in the State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: A putative hybrid has been reported with D. longifolia (SL).

Author: Not yet available