Pterostylis lustra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Small sickle greenhood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pterostylis lustra growing in western Victoria | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Pterostylis |
| Species: | P. lustra |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterostylis lustra | |
Pterostylis lustra, commonly known as the small sickle greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. Flowering plants have three to five bright green leaves at the base of the flowering stem and a single green and white, sickle-shaped flower.
Pterostylis lustra is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. Flowering plants have between three and five bright green, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves in a loose group at base of the flowering stem, each leaf 20–60 mm long and 8–15 mm wide. A single flower 30–50 mm long and 20–27 mm wide is borne on a spike 80–200 mm high. The flowers are green, white and sickle-shaped. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column but the dorsal sepal is longer than the petals and tapers to a point. The lateral sepals are erect with a gap between them and the galea, have thread-like tips 20-30mm long and there is a broad notch in the sinus between them. The labellum is dark-coloured, blunt, 15–25 mm long, about 3 mm wide and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from late October to February.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
Pterostylis lustra was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones from a specimen collected in the Wilsons Promontory National Park and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[1] The specific epithet (lustra) is a Latin word meaning "illuminate" or "light up".[5]