''Pterostylis planulata'', commonly known as the flat 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 elsew ...

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 its base and up to seven translucent flowers with green stripes. The flowers have a thin, dark green, insect-like labellum.

Description

''Pterostylis planulata'', 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. It has a rosette of between five and eight leaves at the base of the flowering spike, each leaf long and wide. The leaves are often withered by the time of flowering. Up to seven translucent flowers with green stripes and long, wide are borne on a flowering spike tall. Three or four 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 co ...

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 joined to form a hood called the "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having a thread-like tip 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 cons ...

sepals are slightly wider than the galea, densely hairy on their outer edges and suddenly taper to a thread-like tip, . The tips of the lateral sepals are more or less parallel to each other and about apart. The labellum is thin, green and insect-like, about long and wide. The "head" end has two long bristles and there are 18 to 24 shorter bristles on the side. Flowering occurs from October to November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pterostylis planulata'' was first formally described in 1983 by David Jones & Mark Clements and the description was published in '' Muelleria''. The type specimen was collected in the northern end of the

Grampians National Park The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated betwee ...

. 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 ...

(''planulata'') is derived from the

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 ''planus'' meaning "level" or "flat" referring to the almost flat, sometimes shallowly dished, lateral sepals.

Distribution and habitat

The flat rustyhood is only known from the northern part of the Grampians National Park where it grows in shallow soil on rock ledges.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15492846 planulata Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1983