''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

''Pterostylis anatona'' 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 a rosette of dark green, wrinkled leaves long and wide. A single light green and white flower long and wide with a reddish-brown tip is borne on a spike high. 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 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 long and a bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is long, about wide, reddish-brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from June to August.

Taxonomy and naming

''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. 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 ...

(''anatona'') is a Latin word meaning "stretching or extending upward".

Distribution and habitat

The Eungella greenhood grows in forest with a grassy understorey above between Eungella and the Blackdown Tableland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15492969

anatona ''Anatona'' is a genus of beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Co ...

Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Queensland Plants described in 1997