Bonatea speciosa flowers

The Bonatea speciosa flower has a green, ovate bract subtending the ovary and reaching its top. The ovary, also green, is 4 cm long, angled up from the stem.

The flower becomes up to 5,5 cm long. The green dorsal sepal is helmet-shaped or hooded and ribbed over the rest of the flower, ending in an acutely pointed tip. The green lateral sepals are recurved, oblong to lanceolate, angled down behind the petals.

The petals are narrow and bifurcated, their green, upper lobes up with the dorsal, the white lower ones forward and angled outwards, their narrow tips sickle-shaped. The green lip below is three-lobed and long-lobed, its lateral lobes angling out below and curving at their tips. The central lip lobe is bent near halfway along its length. There is a cylindrical spur with a club-shaped tip attached to the lip base.

The anther is small compared to the stigma. A hood-like rostellum is in the centre with two projecting arms (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Manning, 2007).