''Pterostylis conferta'', commonly known as the leprechaun greenhood or basalt midget 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 else ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It has a rosette of leaves at the base of the flowering stem and up to sixteen pale green flowers in a short, crowded spike. It is a very rare orchid, similar to '' P. mutica'', its distribution much reduced by urbanisation and agriculture.

Description

''Pterostylis conferta'', 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 wid ...

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, ...

, herb with an underground tuber. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of between five and ten, egg-shaped leaves, each leaf long and wide. Flowering plants have a similar rosette at the base of a flowering stem which is up to high with between five and sixteen crowded, pale green flowers with darker green stripes. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

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 coine ...

and petals are joined to form a hood called the "galea" over the column and which curves forward and then downwards with a pointed tip. The lateral sepals are broadly egg-shaped, turn downwards and are long and wide. They are joined at their bases and their edges are rolled inwards. The labellum is about long and wide, pale green with a dark green appendage. Flowering occurs from October to January.

Taxonomy and naming

The leprechaun greenhood was first formally described in 2009 by David Jones and given the name ''Hymenochilus confertus'' from a specimen collected near Woorndoo. The description was published in ''Orchadian''. In 2010 Gary Backhouse changed the name to ''Pterostylis conferta''. The specific epithet (''conferta'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "pressed together", "crowded", "thick" or "dense".

Distribution and habitat

''Pterostylis conferta'' used to grow on basalt grassland but is now restricted to a single small population growing on a stony hill.

Conservation

This greenhood orchid is classified 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 ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17329300 conferta Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 2009