Microtis

Diurideae subtribe Prasophyllinae

Colony-forming terrestrials arising from a globose or cylindric tuberoid, the tuberoid surmounted by a ring of roots. Stems erect, emerging from a long, tubular leaf sheath. Leaves solitary, linear-filiform. Inflorescences erect, scapose, densely-flowered racemes. Flowers minute, resupinate. Sepals and petals free, the petals frequently appressed to the dorsal sepal. Lip sessile, unlobed, with one or two series of callus. Column short, winged; pollinia four, in two unequal pairs.

From the Greek mikros, meaning small, and otos, meaning ear, from the small membranaceous auricles on the column.

A genus of 14 species ranging from China and Japan to Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

Bates, R. J. 1981. Observations of pollen vectors on a putative hybrid swarm of Microtis R. Br. Orchadian 7(1):14.

Bates, R. J. 1984. The genus Microtis R. Br. (Orchidaceae): a taxonomic revision with notes on biology. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 7(1):45-89.

Bates, R. J. 1986. The genus Microtis in Australia. Orchadian 8(8):163-166.

Bates, R. J. 1990. Notes on the genus Microtis (Orchidaceae) in western Australia with the description of two new taxa. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 13:49-58.

Bates, R. J. 1997. Microtis in the “Arid Lands” of Western Australia. Orchadian 12(4):148-149.

Jones, D. L. 1975. The pollination of Microtis parviflora R. Br. Ann. Bot. 39:585-589.

Peakall, R. and A. J. Beattle 1989. Pollination of the orchid Microtis parviflora R. Br. by flightless worker ants. Funct. Ecol. 3:515-522.

Perkins, A. J., G. Masuhara and P. A. McGee 1995. Specificity of the associations between Microtis parviflora (Orchidaceae) and its mycorrhizal fungi. Austral. J. Bot. 43:85-91.