''Pterostylis aestiva'', commonly known as the long-tongued summer greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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.

Description

''Pterostylis aestiva'' is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of dark bluish-green leaves, each leaf long and wide. Flowering plants have a single flower long and wide borne on a spike high with between three and five stem leaves. The flowers are dark bluish-green, white and brown. The dorsal sepal and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

. The dorsal sepal curves forward with a thread-like tip long. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea, have an erect, thread-like tip long and a protruding sinus between their bases. The labellum is long, about wide, brown, blunt, and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from January to April.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis aestiva'' was first formally described in 1972 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Wulgulmerang. The description was published in '' Muelleria''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''aestiva'') is a Latin word meaning "pertaining to summer".

Distribution and habitat

The long-tongued summer greenhood grows among grasses in high rainfall forests in north-east Victoria and New South Wales as far north as

Mount Canobolas Mount Canobolas, a mountain on a spur of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. With an elevation of above sea level, Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano, is the highest mountain i ...

Use in horticulture

This greenhood is easily grows in pots although plants must be kept moist during the growing season and dry when dormant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15491763 aestiva Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1972