''Pterostylis lingua'', commonly known as the large-lipped rustyhood, 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 ...

to south-eastern Australia. It has a rosette of leaves and up to ten dark reddish-brown flowers with translucent "windows" and a blackish, insect-like labellum.

Description

''Pterostylis lingua'', 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. It has a rosette of between three and twelve elliptic leaves at the base of the flowering spike, each leaf long and wide. Up to ten dark reddish-brown flowers with translucent windows and long, wide are borne on a flowering spike tall. Four to seven stem leaves are wrapped around the flowering spike. 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 form a hood or "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having an upturned point long. The

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...

sepals turn downwards, wider than the galea and suddenly taper to tips long which spread apart from each other. The labellum is blackish-brown, thin and insect-like, long and about wide. The thickened "head" end has many short hairs and the "body" has seven to ten longer hairs on each side. Flowering occurs from September to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis lingua'' was first formally described in 1989 by Mark Clements from a specimen collected in the

Cocoparra National Park The Cocoparra National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Riverina region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated southwest of Sydney and northeast of . The name of the park comes from the ...

and the description was published in ''Australian Orchid Research''. The specific epithet (''lingua'') 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 "tongue".

Distribution and habitat

The large-lipped rustyhood grows in drier forest and woodland and is locally common between Cootamundra and Bourke

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

it only occurs in the Eastern Bioregion and in

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 ...

, only in the far north-western corner of that state.

Conservation

Only about 1500 plants of ''Pterostylis lingua'' are known in Victoria, where the species is classed as "endangered" and it is also considered to be "endangered" in South Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15492058

lingua Lingua (Latin, 'tongue') may refer to: * ''Lingua'' (journal), a peer-reviewed academic journal of general linguistics * ''Lingua'' (sculpture), by Jim Sanborn * ''Lingua'' (play), a 17th-century play attributed to Thomas Tomkis * Project Ling ...

Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1989