Illawarra greenhood (Pterostylis gibbosa)
Description
Pterostylis gibbosa, is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It has a rosette of between four and seven egg-shaped leaves 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) long and 8–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) wide. Flowering plants have a rosette at the base of the flowering spike but the leaves are usually withered by flowering time. Up to nine bright green flowers with translucent panels and 20–23 mm (0.8–0.9 in) long, 11–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide are borne on a flowering spike 150–450 mm (6–20 in) tall. The flowers lean forward and there are three to six stem leaves wrapped around the flowering spike. The dorsal sepal and petals form a hood or "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having a narrow tip 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The lateral sepals turn downwards, wider than the galea and which taper to narrow, brownish tips 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The labellum is fleshy, dark brown and insect-like, about 5 mm (0.2 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide with a channel along its mid-line. The "head" end is thick and has many short hairs and the "body" has four to eight longer hairs on each side. Flowering occurs from August to November
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Orchidaceae
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Genus: Pterostylis
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