Pterostylis reflexa

Pterostylis reflexa, commonly known as the dainty greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. 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 stem. This greenhood has a relatively large white, green and light brown flower with a long, curved dorsal sepal and a protruding labellum.

Dainty greenhood
Pterostylis reflexa at Apsley Falls
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. reflexa
Binomial name
Pterostylis reflexa
Synonyms[2]

Diplodium reflexum (R.Br.) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Description

Pterostylis reflexa is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of between three and seven egg-shaped leaves lying flat on the ground. Each leaf is 10–25 mm (0.4–1 in) long and 6–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) wide. Flowering plants have a single sickle-shaped flower, 18–25 mm (0.7–1 in) long and 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) wide on a flowering stem 100–200 mm (4–8 in) high with between three and five stem leaves. The flowers are white, green and light brown. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column, the dorsal sepal with a narrow tip 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. The lateral sepals are in loose contact with the galea and have erect, thread-like tips 25–35 mm (0.98–1.4 in) long. There is a curved, V-shaped sinus between their bases. The labellum is 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide, reddish-brown and curved with about one-third protruding above the sinus. Flowering occurs from March to June.[3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis reflexa was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[1][5] The specific epithet (reflexa) is a Latin word meaning "bent or turned back."[6]

Distribution and habitat

The dainty greenhood mainly grows on ridges and slopes in coastal and near-coastal forest between about Taree and Nowra.[3][4]

References
  1. "Pterostylis reflexa". APNI. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. "Pterostylis reflexa". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 292. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  4. Jones, David L. "Pterostylis reflexa". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. London. p. 327. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 652.

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