Plant: biennial with rosette stage. First year rosette often raised above the ground and somewhat elongate on the stem. Second year stem leaves relatively broad and tend to be bunched toward the top of the stem.

Flowers: green, turning orange in late maturity. Strongly down-curved dorsal sepal with lateral petals held outward give the plant a cobra-hooded appearance. Prominent pouting sinus of lateral sepals. Labellum narrow and protruding.

Flowering: May to September.

Habitat: in the immediate vicinity of the kauri. Northland to Waikato.

Conservation: usually locally abundant, not threatened.

Notes: often with P. agathicola, P. trullifolia and Cyrtostylis oblonga. Stem leaves are much larger and longer than those of P. trullifolia and P. alobula, and flowers larger.

Key features: small flowered, plants with rosette stage, rosettes usually on a distinct stem.