Huttonaea fimbriata flower

Huttonaea fimbriata flowers are small, white and resupinate (the flower twisted, bearing its lip below, its median sepal at the top). Some pinkish purple speckling occurs on the dorsal (median) sepal that is partly obscured by the larger lateral petals, positioned partly in front of it. The sepals are ovate, the lateral ones having somewhat pointed tips, their margins slightly ragged.

The stalked petals and lip are clawed, elaborately fringed by thin fleshy protrusions, irregular in shape. It is these fringes that brought the plant its specific name of fimbriata, meaning: having a fringe or border of hair-like or finger-like projections.

The obovate lip below appears small in the flower in the photo. The gynostemium in the flower’s central column is short and broad. The flower segments have shiny, fleshy surfaces (Pooley, 1998; www.orchidspecies.com; Wikipedia).