Pterostylis longipetala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Curved greenhood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pterostylis longipetala growing in Bournda National Park | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Pterostylis |
| Species: | P. longipetala |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterostylis longipetala | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Pterostylis longipetala, commonly known as curved greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. As with similar greenhoods, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but the flowering plants have a single flower with leaves on the flowering spike. This greenhood has dark green, brown and white flowers which lean slightly forwards and have sharply-pointed petals and a long, curved labellum.
Pterostylis longipetala is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of between three and six egg-shaped, dark green leaves lying flat on the ground. Each leaf is 8–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. Flowering plants have a single flower 14–17 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) wide which leans slightly forwards, on a flowering stem 100–160 mm (4–6 in) high with between three and five stem leaves. The flowers are dark green, brown and white. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal has a thread-like tip 6–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) long and the petals have pointed tips. The lateral sepals are erect, held closely against the galea, have thread-like tips 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long and a V-shaped sinus between their bases. The labellum is 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long, about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide, dark reddish-brown and curved, and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from April to June.[2][3][4]