Plant: to 30 cm tall, leaf to 20 cm long.

Flowers: pakle mauve, petals and sepals acute. Labellum white, midrib prominent; magenta bars on and between wings with two rows of yellow topped calli to midlobe base. Midlobe yellow tipped with 3–4 slender, basal marginal calli each side. Anther cap magenta.

Flowering: November.

Habitat: Well lit scrub and track sides. Far north mainly but isolated colonies occur in Coromandel, Uruti and Aorangi ranges.

Notes: Only recently correctly identified after being confused for over 20 years with C. minor and sometimes identified as C.fusata by field botanists.

Key features: distinguished by its particular pale pink colour and tepals that abruptly taper to a very acute tip.