Citation: M. Clements, Matthias & Jones, Kew Bull. 40:77 (1985).

Synonymy: P. mitchellii sensu Gray, Vict. Nat. Orch. 2:47 (1971), non Lindley. , Oligochaetochilus setifer

Common name: None

Description:
Slender, stem 10-30 cm high; leaves 8-10 in a basal rosette, ovate to oblong, 30-40 x 5-10 mm, glabrous or setose along outer margins, usually withered at flowering.

Flowers 4-10 in a raceme on the upper half of the stem; pedicel partly concealed by bracts; bracts 3-16, ensheathing the stem or pedicel, falcate to lanceolate, 10-25 x 2-5 mm; galea 8-15 mm long, green or light-brown with white and dark-brown markings; dorsal sepal cucullate, setose on the upper surface, broad at the base, tapering to a fine point that is curved upwards slightly, 15-18 mm long including an acuminate tip 5-6 mm long; petals obliquely ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 10-12 mm long, proximal inner edges thickened into protuberances that touch each other near the base of the flower; lateral sepals (lower lip) strongly recurved near the base, fused in the proximal half, ovate, long-acuminate, deeply concave, 18-22 x 6-8 mm, ending in diverging points in the anterior half; labellum irritable, on a long and narrow claw attached to the foot of the column, lamina lanceolate to narrow-triangular, 4-5 x 1-2 mm, brown, fleshy with a swollen base, longitudinal channel short above, much deeper and longer below, tip straight or slightly recurved, the margins beset with pale-yellow setae 1-5 mm long, the shorter just below the basal swelling and the longer 9-15 pairs on the anterior margins; column curved and hidden in the galea, 6-10 x 1-2 mm; wings touching anteriorly, the margins ciliate; stigma elliptical; anther terminal on the column; pollinia in 2 sets of 2, linear to slightly falcate, 1.4-1.6 mm long.

Published illustration: Gray (1971) Victorian native orchids 2:47 as P. mitchellii.

Distribution:  Found in a variety of habitats, in S.Aust. in open areas of mallee type vegetation and small red sand dune areas covered with Callitris. Rare. S.Aust.: MU.   Qld; N.S.W.; Vic. Conservation status: native Flowering time: Sept. — Nov.

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

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available