Pterostylis revoluta
| Autumn greenhood | |
|---|---|
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| Pterostylis revoluta growing in the Aranda bushland reserve | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Pterostylis |
| Species: | P. revoluta
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| Binomial name | |
| Pterostylis revoluta | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Pterostylis revoluta, commonly known as the autumn greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. 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 spike. This greenhood has white and green flowers that have a long, curved, pointed labellum which extends beyond the sinus between the lateral sepals.
Description[edit]
Pterostylis revoluta is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of between three and seven greyish to bluish, egg-shaped leaves. Each leaf in the rosette is 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long and 4–12 mm (0.16–0.47 in) wide. Flowering plants have a single flower 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long, 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) wide and that lean forwards slightly. The flower is borne on a flowering stem 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) high with between three and five leaves wrapped around the stem. The flowers are pale green and white with a brown tinge. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal curves forward and downward with a thread-like tip 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea, have an erect, curved thread-like tip 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long and a narrow V-shaped sinus between their bases. The labellum is 14–17 mm (0.55–0.67 in) long, about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide, curved, pointed and extends for about half its length above the sinus. Flowering occurs from February to June.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming[edit]
Pterostylis revoluta was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4][5] The specific epithet (revoluta) is a Latin word meaning "turned over" or "rolled back".[6]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
The autumn greenhood grows on sheltered slopes in forest and in coastal scrub in coastal and near-coastal area from south-east Queensland to Nowra in New South Wales and as far inland as Cessnock.[2][3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Pterostylis revoluta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ a b Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 296. ISBN 978-1877069123.
- ^ a b Jones, David L. "Pterostylis revoluta". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Pterostylis revoluta". APNI. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. London. p. 327. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 657.