Brownleea parviflora Harv. ex Lindl.

A terrestrial herb 2–6.5 dm. high, glabrous except at the base.. Tubers ellipsoid, 1–3 cm. long, 6–18 mm. in diameter, glabrous or ± densely tomentose.. Roots flexuous, pubescent.. Stem erect, slender, terete, distantly leafy, glabrous.. Leaves 3–6, the lowest 1 or 2 closely sheathing, brownish, ± chaffy, covered with stiff spreading hairs, the next 1 or 2 erect, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, acute, up to 7–22 cm. long and 0.5–2.5(–3.5) cm. broad, the uppermost much smaller, similar to the bracts, all the upper ones glabrous.. Inflorescence cylindrical, 3.5–16 cm. long, l.5–2(–2.5) cm. in diameter, very densely many-flowered.. Bracts narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, acuminate, 0.5–3.5 cm. long, the lower ones, and sometimes most of the others, longer than the flowers.. Flowers suberect, white to lilac, mauve or violet, or marked with these colours on a white base; ovary almost sessile (pedicel very short), 4–6 mm. long.. Dorsal sepal erect or incurved, lanceolate, convex, running out into a recurved spur below the middle at the back, 3.5–5.5 mm. long, ± 2 mm. broad when spread out, from base to apex of spur 4–7 mm. long, the spur cylindrical or slightly widened from a narrower base; laterals spreading downwards, oblong-lanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate, acute, joined together at first but becoming almost free later, 3-4.5 mm. long, 1.5–3 mm. broad.. Petals erect, adherent to the dorsal sepal along their back margins, obliquely triangular-quadrate, rounded or obtuse, 2.5–4 mm. long, ± 2 mm. broad.. Lip very small, linear or oblong, obtuse, turned up in front of the stigma, ± 1 mm. long and 0.3 mm. broad.. Column very short; anther horizontal, 1–1.5 mm. long, auricles erect, rugulose; stigma suborbicular, ± 1 mm. in diameter, rostellum erect, rather fleshy, notched in the upper part with the 2 viscidia on each side of the notch.. Fig. 32.