Cryptostylis erecta R.Br.

Leaves lanceolate to ovate, leathery, 80–180 × 25–30 mm, dark green above, purple beneath (rarely green), on stalks 40–100 mm long. Flower stem 300–800 mm long, 2–12-flowered. Flowers 25–30 × 10–15 mm. Sepals and petals greenish. Dorsal sepal 18–25 × 1.5–2 mm, decurved. Lateral sepals 18–25 × 1.5–2 mm, obliquely erect, divergent. Petals 10–15 × 1 mm, spreading. Labellum forming a large, erect hood, 20–30 × 10–15 mm when flattened, greenish to lilac with a chequered network of purple veins. Callus a narrow, longitudinal, whitish to green plate and some irregular dark purple spots. Column c. 4 × 3 mm.

Widely distributed and common, especially on coastal plains and headlands, but also extending into ranges. Found growing among grasses, sedges and low shrubs in many habitats including heath, grasstree plains, grassy flats, wallum communities, heathy forests, open forests, wetter forests, and rainforest in freely draining to moisture-retentive sandy soils, loam and clay loam.

Plants are grown by division.