Corunastylis

Corunastylis is a historically recognized genus of about 50 species of orchids, native to Australia and New Zealand, now included in the genera Genoplesium and Prasophyllum.

In 1888, Robert Fitzgerald formally described Corunastylis apostasioides and published the description in Australian Orchids, the first time the name Corunastylis had been used.[1] In 1889, Ferdinand von Mueller changed the name to Prasophyllum apostasioides[2] and in 1989, David Jones and Mark Clements placed it and most other species of Prasophyllum into Genoplesium.[3] In 2002 Jones and Clements moved all the species of Genoplesium back into Corunastylis except for the New South Wales species Genoplesium baueri.[4]

A recent phylogenetic analysis of Prasophyllinae suggests that Corunastylis is paraphyletic, and funding from The Australian Orchid Foundtion is supporting field work and molecular studies to improve understanding of the phylogeny of the subtribe.[5]

Plants of the World Online considers Corunastylis to be a synonym of Genoplesium.[6] All the species in the list below are now considered to be included in Genoplesium, except for Corunastylis obovata and Corunastylis unica, now included in the genus Prasophyllum as P. obovatum[7] and P. unicum[8] respectively.

The genus name Corunastylis is derived from Greek words meaning "a thick stick" and "a style".[9][10]

The following is a list of species formerly included in Corunastylis: