Genoplesium turfosum, commonly known as the alpine midge orchid, is a small terrestrial orchid endemic to a small area in the higher parts of New South Wales. It has a single thin leaf fused to the flowering stem and up to twenty five dark purplish-red, crowded flowers with a sparsely hairy labellum.
Genoplesium turfosum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin leaf with a purplish base and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, fused to the flowering stem with the free part NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. Between two and twenty five flowers are crowded along a flowering stem NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, reaching to a height NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1. The flowers lean downwards, are dark purplish-red and about 4sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is linear to egg-shaped, about 3.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, 2sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and reddish-purple with darker bands. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, about 4.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, 1.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and spread widely apart from each other. The petals are linear to egg-shaped, about 3sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and 1.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide with dark bands. The labellum is linear to egg-shaped, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long, about 3.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide with a few coarse, blackish hairs up to 1.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long on its edges. There is a dark purplish-black callus in the centre of the labellum and extending almost to its tip. Flowering occurs in November and December.[1] [2]
Genoplesium turfosum was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[3] In 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements changed the name to Corunastylis turfosa but the change is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census.[4] The specific epithet (turfosum) is a Latin word meaning "peaty" or "boggy", referring to the habitat of this orchid.
The alpine midge orchid grows with dense sedges in boggy places in the Kosciuszko National Park.