Corybas despectans

Corybas despectans is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with a single round or heart-shaped leaf 8–25 mm (0.3–1 in) long and 12–30 mm (0.5–1 in) wide. The leaf is green on the upper surface and silvery green on the lower side. There is a single erect, reddish purple flower with green or translucent areas, 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long and 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) wide. The dorsal sepal is greenish grey, erect in the lower part then curves, 6–11 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide and does not usually completely cover the labellum. The lateral sepals are about 5 mm (0.2 in) long, 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and joined at their bases before tapering to a fine tip. The petals are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long, 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, widest at the base then tapering to a thread-like tip. The labellum is longer than the dorsal sepal, 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) long, 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) wide and reddish with obvious veins. Flowering occurs from June to September.[2][3][4][5][6]

Corybas despectans was first formally described in 1976 by David Jones and R.C. Nash from a specimen collected near Warooka and the description was published in Muelleria.[7] The specific epithet (despectans) is a Latin word meaning "look down upon".[8]

In 2002, David Jones and Mark Clements proposed splitting Corybas into smaller genera and placing this species into Corysanthes but the change has not been widely accepted.[9]

The tiny helmet orchid forms colonies in forests and scrubland and is very common in some places. It occurs disjunctly in western Victoria and on the Mornington Peninsula, in the south-east of South Australia including Kangaroo Island and in Western Australia between Bunbury and Israelite Bay.[2][3][6][10]