Biology:Pterostylis monticola

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Short description: Species of orchid

Large mountain greenhood
Pterostylis monticola.jpg
Pterostylis monticola growing near Mount St Gwinear
Scientific classification edit
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

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.

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]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Pterostylis monticola". APNI. https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/569926. Retrieved 20 May 2017. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jones, David L. (1994). "New species of Orchidaceae from south-eastern Australia". Muelleria 8 (2): 189–190. https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/documents/Muelleria_8(2),_p177-192,_Jones,_new_Orchidaceae.pdf. Retrieved 20 May 2017. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 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. 4.0 4.1 Jones, David L.. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pterostylis~monticola. Retrieved 20 May 2017. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Jeanes, Jeff. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora. https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/93c0a4cb-d5a6-4659-acb4-2a45173aee14. 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.

Wikidata ☰ Q15495566 entry