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Pterostylis anatona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eungella greenhood
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. anatona
Binomial name
Pterostylis anatona

Pterostylis anatona, commonly known as the Eungella greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a rosette of wrinkled leaves at the base of the plant and a single light green and white flower, reddish towards its tip. It grows in higher areas between Eungella and the Blackdown Tableland National Park.

Description

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Pterostylis anatona is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of dark green, wrinkled leaves 15–45 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 9–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) wide. A single light green and white flower 37–44 mm (1–2 in) long and 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) wide with a reddish-brown tip is borne on a spike 60–180 mm (2–7 in) high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal is slightly shorter than the petals. There is a wide gap between the galea and the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect and have narrow tips 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long and a bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is 18–22 mm (0.7–0.9 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide, reddish-brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from June to August.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

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Pterostylis anatona was first formally described in 1997 by David Jones and the description was published in The Orchadian from a specimen collected near Eungella.[1] The specific epithet (anatona) is a Latin word meaning "stretching or extending upward".[3]

Distribution and habitat

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The Eungella greenhood grows in forest with a grassy understorey above 800 m (3,000 ft) between Eungella and the Blackdown Tableland.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Pterostylis anatona". APNI. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. ^ 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. 303. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  3. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 581.