''Pterostylis rubescens'', commonly known as the blushing tiny greenhood, is a species of

orchid 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 ...

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 south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. As with similar orchids, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves but the flowering plants lack a rosette at the base and have up to eighteen tiny green, white and brownish flowers.

Description

''Pterostylis rubescens'' 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 Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

and when not flowering, a rosette of between five and fifteen egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves which lie flat on the ground. Each leaf is long and wide. Flowering plants have between three and eighteen well-spaced flowers long are borne on a thin, wiry spike high. Three to six leaves are wrapped around the flowering spike. The flowers are almost spherical, green and white near the base, brownish near the tip and age to pinkish. 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. ...

. The dorsal sepal curves forward near the top and has a rough tip. 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 erect and held closely against the galea with narrow tips about long that do not project above the galea. The

sinus Sinus may refer to: Anatomy * Sinus (anatomy), a sac or cavity in any organ or tissue ** Paranasal sinuses, air cavities in the cranial bones, especially those near the nose, including: *** Maxillary sinus, is the largest of the paranasal sinuses, ...

between the bases of the lateral sepals bulges forward and has a small notch in the centre. The labellum is about long, wide and is not visible above the sinus. Flowering occurs from January to May.

Taxonomy and naming

The blushing tiny greenhood was first formally described in 2008 by David Jones who gave it the name ''Speculantha rubescens''. The description was published in ''The Orchadian'' from a specimen collected in the

Conimbla National Park The Conimbla National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central West region of New South Wales in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, northwest of and northeast of . Features ...

. In 2010 Gary Backhouse changed the name to ''Pterostylis rubescens''. 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 ...

(''rubescens'') 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 ''ruber'' meaning "red" or "reddish" with the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

''-escens'' meaning "becoming".

Distribution and habitat

''Pterostylis rubescens'' grows on slopes and ridges in open forest and woodland. It is widespread in northern

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 ...

and on the central and southern tablelands of

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17329285 rubescens Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of the Australian Capital Territory Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 2008