Pterostylis psammophila
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Two-bristle greenhood | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Pterostylis |
| Species: | P. psammophila |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterostylis psammophila | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Oligochaetochilus psammophilus D.L.Jones | |
Pterostylis psammophila, commonly known as the two-bristle greenhood, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. Both flowering and non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves and flowering plants have translucent green and white flowers with an insect-like labellum, but the flowers are only open for a few days.
Pterostylis psammophila is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of between six and sixteen overlapping leaves. The leaves are up to leaves are up to 50 mm (2 in) long and have a serrated edge. Flowering plants have a rosette at the base of the flowering stem but the leaves are usually withered by flowering time. The flowers are green or translucent white but are short-lived and borne on a flowering stem usually about 150 mm (6 in) high. The dorsal sepal and petals form a hood or "galea" over the column, the lateral sepals turn downwards and the labellum is insect-like with two long bristles on the "head" end. Flowering occurs between late August and October.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
The two-bristle greenhood was first formally described in 2007 by D.L.Jones who gave it the name Oligochaeochilus psammophilus. The description was published in The Orchadian from a specimen collected near Cockatoo Valley.[3] In 2008, Robert Bates changed the name to Pterostylis psammophila.[1] The specific epithet (psammophila) is derived from the Ancient Greek ψάμμος (psámmos), meaning “sand”[4]: 678 and φίλος (phílos), meaning “dear one" or "friend”.[4]: 355