''Pterostylis chlorogramma'', commonly known as the green-striped leafy greenhood, is a plant in the orchid family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Victoria. Flowering plants have up to seven translucent green flowers with darker green stripes. The flowers have a green labellum with a darker stripe down the middle. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves on a short, thin stalk but flowering plants lack the rosette, instead having five to seven stem leaves.

Description

''Pterostylis chlorogramma'', is a terrestrial,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of between three and six lance-shaped to narrow egg-shaped leaves, each leaf long and wide on a thin stalk long. Flowering plants have up to seven translucent green flowers with darker green stripes on a flowering spike high. The flowers are long and wide. The flowering spike has between five and nine linear to lance-shaped stem leaves. The dorsal

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

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. ...

with the dorsal sepal having a short point on its tip. The lateral sepals turn downwards, long, wide, joined for part of their length and suddenly narrow to thin points . The labellum is about long, wide, pale green with a dark geen stripe along its centre and a dark green mound on the top end. Flowering occurs from July to September.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis chlorogramma'' was first formally described in 1993 by David Jones and Mark Clements and the description was published in '' Muelleria'' from a specimen collected near Grantville. 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 ...

(''chlorogramma'') refers to the green stripes on the flowers.

Distribution and habitat

The green-striped leafy greenhood grows in heathy and shrubby forests near the Victorian coast between Yarram and

Edenhope Edenhope is a town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Wimmera Highway, 30 kilometres from the South Australian border, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. At the Edenhope had a population of 946. ...

. There is some doubt about its distribution because of confusion with similar species of greenhood.

Conservation

''Pterostylis chlorogramma'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' and as "threatened" under the Victorian Government ''

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

''. Threats to the species include weed invasion, grazing by rabbits and macropods, and by tampling by people, during road maintenance and by trail bike activity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15492777 chlorogramma Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1993