Pterostylis monticola

Pterostylis monticola, commonly known as the large mountain greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at the base of the plant and a single dark green and white flower. It grows in alpine and sub-alpine colonies.

Large mountain greenhood
Pterostylis monticola growing near Mount St Gwinear
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. monticola
Binomial name
Pterostylis monticola

Description

Pterostylis monticola is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of three to seven dark green, fleshy leaves surrounding the base of the flowering stem. Each leaf is egg-shaped to elliptic, 40–90 mm long and 15–25 mm wide. A single dark green and white flower 40–50 mm long and 17–22 mm wide is borne on a spike 200–400 mm high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal is the same length as the petals and curves forward with a pointed tip. There is a wide gap between the galea and the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect and have thread-like tips 15–20 mm long and a bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is 16–20 mm long, about 4 mm wide, brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from November to March.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis monticola was first formally described in 1994 by David Jones and the description was published in Muelleria from a specimen collected in the Brindabella Range.[1] The specific epithet (monticola) is said to derived from the Latin mons, meaning "mountain" and cola, meaning "dweller", referring to the montane habitat of this orchid.[2] Cola can not be found in classical Latin as a single word, but is seen as part of compounds, such as Apenninicola, "a dweller among the Apennines" and terricola, "a dweller upon earth".[6]

Distribution and habitat

The large mountain greenhood is common in moist grassy areas in montane forest and shrubland in New South Wales and Victoria.[2][3][4][5]

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References
  1. "Pterostylis monticola". APNI. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  2. Jones, David L. (1994). "New species of Orchidaceae from south-eastern Australia" (PDF). Muelleria. 8 (2): 189–190. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  3. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 305–306. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  4. Jones, David L. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. Jeanes, Jeff. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. Lewis, C.T. & Short, C. (1879). A Latin dictionary founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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