Plant: biennial, forms extensive colonies of small flowers. First year leaves quite round, 10-20mm broad. Second year flowering stems with erect bract-like leaves.

Flowers: small, 10-15 mm across, Sinus of lateral sepals thickened, protruding like a jug spout. Petals broad, rounded at the tip, the hood of dorsal sepal and petals creating a narrow gap with the sepals can completely obscure the erect, dark brown, straight tipped, obtuse labellum.

Flowering: February to May.

Habitat: lowland poor soils in hard beech, manuka and gorse. Wellington to Nelson, local, rare.

Conservation: a few sites known around Nelson, Marlborough and Wellington, a new coloniser from Australia where it is rare.

Notes: very distinctive flower. Unusually small scattered populations.

Key features: small flower and large rounded first year leaves, thickened, jutting junction to sepals, broad petals.