Microtis media subsp. densiflora
Microtis media subsp. densiflora, commonly known as the dense mignonette orchid, is a species of orchid which is endemic to the south–west of Western Australia. It has a single smooth, tubular leaf and a flowering spike with up to one hundred and fifty small yellowish-green flowers. It differs from Microtis media subsp. media in the shape of its flower spike and the shape of its labellum.
Description
Microtis media subsp. densiflora is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single erect, smooth, tubular leaf long and wide. Between twenty and one hundred and fifty small greenish-yellow flowers are crowded along an erect, fleshy flowering stem long. Each flower is long and wide. The dorsal sepal is erect and about long, wide. The lateral sepals are about long, wide and curl downwards. The petals are about long, wide and face forwards. The labellum is thin, long, wide with irregular edges and a small callus. Flowering occurs from October to January.Taxonomy and naming
The dense mignonette orchid was first formally described in 1873 by George Bentham who gave it the name Microtis parviflora var. densiflora and published the description in Flora Australiensis. In 1990 Robert Bates included it as a subspecies of Microtis media along with subspecies media and quadrata. The last of these has since been raised to species status as M. quadrata by David Jones and Mark Clements.The epithet is derived from the Latin densus, and -florus referring to the dense flower spike.