Pterostylis picta

Pterostylis picta, commonly known as the painted rufous greenhood[3] or painted rustyhood[4] is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Both flowering and non-flowering plants have a relatively large rosette of leaves. Flowering plants also have up to seven large translucent white flowers with green and brown stripes and markings and a fleshy, insect-like labellum.

Painted rufous greenhood
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. picta
Binomial name
Pterostylis picta
Synonyms[2]

Oligochaetochilus pictus (M.A.Clem.) Szlach.

Description

Pterostylis picta is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of between six and twelve leaves. The leaves are 15–45 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 7–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in) wide. Flowering plants have a rosette at the base of the flowering stem but the leaves are usually withered by flowering time. Up to seven or more translucent white flowers with green and brown stripes and markings and 30–35 mm (1.2–1.4 in) long and 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) wide are borne on a flowering spike 150–500 mm (6–20 in) tall. The dorsal sepal and petals form a hood or "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having a narrow tip 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. The lateral sepals turn downwards, about the same width as the galea and suddenly taper to narrow tips 10–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long which turn forward and spread apart from each other. The labellum is brown, thick, fleshy and insect-like, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide and covered with short hairs with longer hairs on the edges. Flowering occurs from September to November.[3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis picta was first formally described in 1989 by Mark Clements from a specimen collected near Moora and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[1] The specific epithet (picta) is a Latin word meaning "painted" or "coloured"[6] referring to the markings on the flowers.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The painted rufous greenhood grows in woodland, shrubland and in shallow soil on granite outcrops between Kalbarri and Woodanilling.[3][4][5][7]

Conservation

Pterostylis picta is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7]

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References
  1. "Pterostylis picta". APNI. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. "Pterostylis picta". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  3. Brown, Andrew; Dundas, Pat; Dixon, Kingsley; Hopper, Stephen (2008). Orchids of Western Australia. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. p. 375. ISBN 9780980296457.
  4. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 331. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  5. Hoffman, Noel; Brown, Andrew (2011). Orchids of South-West Australia (3rd ed.). Gooseberry Hill: Noel Hoffman. p. 442. ISBN 9780646562322.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 606.
  7. "Pterostylis picta". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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