Cyrtostylis

Cyrtostylis, commonly known as gnat orchids, is a genus of five or six species of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is native to Australia and New Zealand. Cyrtostylis orchids often form dense colonies of genetically identical plants. They have a single heart-shaped leaf and a thin flowering stem with pale coloured insect-like flowers. The lateral sepals and petals are similar in size and colour but the labellum is shelf-like and conspicuous with two prominent glands at its base.

==Description== Orchids in the genus Cyrtostylis are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs, usually with a few inconspicuous, fine roots and one or two tubers. They often form dense colonies of cloned plants. There is a single green, heart-shaped, ground-hugging leaf at the base of the flowering stem. The thin flowering stem bears one to a few flowers with the column at the top. The flowers are usually pale coloured with an erect dorsal sepal and spreading lateral sepals and petals. The petals and sepals are narrow lance-shaped and about as long as each other and the dorsal sepal. The labellum is stalkless, oblong and about as long as the sepals and petals with two bead-like glands and two ridges along its length. The column is curved with wings and is about half as long as the labellum.