Eriochilus cucullatus Rchb.F.

Leaf incompletely developed at flowering; mature leaf ovate, 15–35 × 7–12 mm, ground-hugging, dark green to mid green above, mid green beneath, usually smooth and glabrous. Flower stem 100–250 mm long, glabrous, 1–5-flowered. Flowers 15–20 × 12–15 mm, dorsal sepal and petals reddish with white tips, lateral sepals white or pink, labellum greenish with white to red bristles. Dorsal sepal 5.5–8 × 2.5 mm. Lateral sepals 10–13 × 3–4 mm. Petals 6–7 × 1 mm. Labellum 6–8 × 3 mm when flattened; midlobe ovate to elliptic, 3–4 × 3 mm, fleshy, with separate tufts of red and white bristles.

Widespread and common; growing among shrubs, tussocks and grass in coastal scrub, heath, grassland, open forest, woodland and montane forest in a wide range of freely draining sands, loam and clay loam.

The tubers are edible but this would kill the plant.

Plants are grown from tubers. Seeds sometimes grow in sprinkled around the base of established plants.