Rosette leaves 8–14, broadly elliptic, 20–30 x 6–10mm. Flower stem 50–20 tall, 2– across, 1–7-flowered. Stem bracts 1–3. Flowers porrect to semi-nodding, hairy, 27–30 x 10–12mm, dark reddish-brown to blackish with translucent areas. Dorsal sepal point filamentous, 8–1 long, porrect to upcurved. Lateral sepals usually backswept towards ovary, wider than hood, usually concave, margins thickened, densely hairy; free points filamentous, 10–1 long, widely divergent. Petals with large basal flanges blocking off base of opening, 12–14 x 4.5–5mm. Labellum narrowly ovate-tapered, 5–5.5 x 2mm, dark brown, thick, fleshy, broadly channelled, hairy; margins with 10–16 white bristles 1–3. long; basal lobe small, with few short bristles.
Widespread but disjunct although sometimes locally common, growing in range of drier habitats, especially box-ironbark forest with sparse groundcover, mallee communities, Callitris woodland and under sheoaks in freely draining sands, gravels and clay loams; also in shallow soil on rock outcrops.
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