Genoplesium insigne

Genoplesium insigne is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin, dark green leaf with a reddish base. The leaf is 60–150 mm (2–6 in) long, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide with the free part 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long. Between five and twelve dark purple to dark reddish purple flowers are arranged along a flowering stem 90–180 mm (4–7 in) tall and taller than the leaf. The flowers are about 5 mm (0.2 in) wide and as with others in the genus, are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is lance-shaped to egg-shaped, 5–5.5 mm (0.20–0.22 in) long, 2.5 mm (0.1 in) wide and concave. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, 6.5–7 mm (0.26–0.28 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and more or less parallel to each other. The petals are lance-shaped to narrow egg-shaped, 4.5–5 mm (0.18–0.20 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The labellum is egg-shaped to elliptic, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long, 2 mm (0.08 in) wide with purple hairs up to 1 mm (0.04 in) long on the sides. There is a fleshy, dark purplish black callus in the centre of the labellum and covering less than half of it. Flowering occurs between August and November.

The dark midge orchid grows in heath and heathy forest, in four small areas between Chain Valley Bay and Wyong with a further small population near Lake Macquarie.