''Pterostylis brumalis'', commonly known as the kauri greenhood or winter greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to New Zealand. There is a rosette of leaves at the base of both flowering and non-flowering plants. Flowering plants have a white flower with narrow green stripes and a dorsal sepal which bends forward strongly while the

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 spread widely, giving the flower a cobra-like appearance.

Description

''Pterostylis brumalis'' 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 egg-shaped to almost round leaves. The rosette leaves are long and wide with a petiole up to long. Flowering plants usually have a single white flower with narrow dark green stripes borne on a stem up to high with between two and six stem leaves. The stem leaves are long and wide. The dorsal sepal and petals 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 strongly and then downwards with a pointed tip and the petals are flared giving the flower a cobra-like appearance. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea and have thread-like tips which spread widely apart from each other and a flat, protruding sinus between their bases. The labellum is triangular in cross-section and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs between April and October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis brumalis'' was first formally described in 1939 by Lucy Beatrice Moore from a specimen collected near

Laingholm Laingholm is a small community situated in the Waitākere Ranges of West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, New Zealand. The name is derived from George and John Laing, who farmed the area starting in 1854, before it was subdivided. Celebrati ...

and the description was published in '' New Zealand Journal of Botany''. 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 ...

(''brumalis'') is a Latin word meaning "wintery", from ''bruma'', the "shortest day" or "winter solstice", referring to the winter flowering of this greenhood.

Distribution and habitat

The kauri greenhood only grows in kauri ('' Agathis australis'') forest or where there are kauri remnants. It usually grows in shady places with kauri leaf litter. It is found on the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

between Cape Reinga,

Kāwhia Harbour Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southw ...

and the Kaimai Range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15491514 brumalis Endemic orchids of New Zealand Plants described in 1968