''Pterostylis brunneola'', commonly known as the giant snail orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. Both flowering and non-flowering plants have a large rosette of leaves flat on the ground and flowering plants have a single distinctive white flower with pale

fawn Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

stripes and have leaves on the flowering spike. This species often forms large colonies, sometimes with ''

Caladenia ''Caladenia'', commonly known as spider orchids, is a genus of 350 species of plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Spider orchids are terrestrial herbs with a single hairy leaf and a hairy stem. The labellum is fringed or toothed in most s ...

'' species.

Description

''Pterostylis brunneola'' 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 large rosette of leaves in diameter. Flowering plants have a single pale fawn and white flower long and wide on a flowering stem high. There are two or three stem leaves long and wide on the flowering stem. 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. ...

and the dorsal sepal has a blunt point. The lateral sepals are held close to the galea and have erect, thread-like tips long. The labellum is broad but not visible from outside the flower. Flowering occurs from July to September.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis brunneola'' was first formally described in 2014 by David Jones and

Christopher French Christopher French could refer to: *Christopher French (theologian) (fl. c. 1650–c.1713), Irish professor of divinity *Chris French (Christopher Charles French) (born 1956), British psychologist *Christopher French (judge) (1925–2003), British ...

from a specimen collected south of Narrogin and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Review''. The species had previously been known as ''Pterostylis'' sp. 'giant'. 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 ...

(''brunneola'') is a Latin word meaning "brownish", referring to the colour of the flowers.

Distribution and habitat

The giant snail orchid grows near

Toolibin Lake Toolibin Lake is a seasonal fresh to brackish water perched lake or wooded swamp, in south-western Australia. The lake is contained with a nature reserve and it is located about south-east of Perth, in the Shire of Narrogin, and east of th ...

in sandy soil under species of '' Banksia'' and '' Allocasuarina'' in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Jarrah Forest

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation

''Pterostylis brunneola'' is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q29568702 brunneola Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 2014