Pterostylis monticola

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Large mountain greenhood
Pterostylis monticola.jpg
Pterostylis monticola growing near Mount St Gwinear
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. monticola
Binomial name
Pterostylis monticola

Pterostylis monticola, commonly known as the large mountain greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at the base of the plant and a single dark green and white flower. It grows in alpine and sub-alpine colonies.

Endemism Ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.

Alpine plant Plants that grow at high elevation

Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. Alpine plants are adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, and a short growing season.

Contents

Description

Pterostylis monticola is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of three to seven dark green, fleshy leaves surrounding the base of the flowering stem. Each leaf is egg-shaped to elliptic, 40–90 mm long and 15–25 mm wide. A single dark green and white flower 40–50 mm long and 17–22 mm wide is borne on a spike 200–400 mm high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal is the same length as the petals and curves forward with a pointed tip. There is a wide gap between the galea and the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect and have thread-like tips 15–20 mm long and a bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is 16–20 mm long, about 4 mm wide, brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from November to March. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Perennial plant Plant that lives for more than two years

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. Some sources cite perennial plants being plants that live more than three years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs, which are also technically perennials.

Deciduous trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally

In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous (/dɪˈsɪdʒuəs/) 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, after flowering; and to the shedding of ripe fruit.

Herbaceous plant Plant which has no persistent woody stem above ground

Herbaceous plants in botany, frequently shortened to herbs, are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. Herb has other meanings in cooking, medicine, and other fields. Herbaceous plants are those plants that do not have woody stems, they include many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials, they include both forbs and graminoids.

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis monticola was first formally described in 1994 by David Jones and the description was published in Muelleria from a specimen collected in the Brindabella Range. [1] The specific epithet (monticola) is derived from the Latin words mons meaning "mountain" [6] :533 and -cola meaning "dweller". [6] :217 referring to the montane habitat of this orchid. [2]

David Lloyd Jones is an Australian horticultural botanist and the author of a large number of books and papers, especially on Australian orchids.

Muelleria is a peer-reviewed scientific journal on botany published by the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. It focuses on topics relating to plants, algae, and fungi in the southern hemisphere and Australia in particular. The journal was named in honour of Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller. Muelleria commenced publication in 1955 with funding from the Maud Gibson Trust. The trust was initiated in 1945 following the donation of £20,000 by Maud Gibson, a daughter of William Gibson, founder of the Foy & Gibson department store chain.

Brindabella Range mountain range located in Australia

The Brindabella Range, commonly called The Brindabellas, is a mountain range located in Australia, on a state and territory border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The range rises to the west of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, and includes the Namadgi National Park in the ACT and the Bimberi Nature Reserve and Brindabella National Park in New South Wales. The Brindabellas are visible to the west of Canberra and form an important part of the city's landscape.

Distribution and habitat

The large mountain greenhood is common in moist grassy areas in montane forest and shrubland in New South Wales and Victoria. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Montane ecosystems ecosystems found in mountains

Montane ecosystems refers to any ecosystem found in mountains. These ecosystems are strongly affected by climate, which gets colder as elevation increases. They are stratified according to elevation. Dense forests are common at moderate elevations. However, as the elevation increases, the climate becomes harsher, and the plant community transitions to grasslands or tundra.

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In December 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Victoria (Australia) State in Australia

Victoria is a state in south-eastern Australia. Victoria is Australia's smallest mainland state and its second-most populous state overall, making it the most densely populated state overall. Most of its population lives concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Victoria is bordered by Bass Strait and Tasmania to the south, New South Wales to the north, the Tasman Sea to the east, and South Australia to the west.

Related Research Articles

<i>Pterostylis coccina</i> species of plant

Pterostylis coccina, commonly known as the scarlet greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. As with similar greenhoods, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but the flowering plants have a single flower with leaves on the flowering spike. In this species, the rosette leaves are relatively large and dark green, and the flowers are white, and bluish-green or red. It grows in New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria.

<i>Pterostylis curta</i> species of plant

Pterostylis curta, commonly known as the blunt greenhood, is a species of orchid found in south-eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. It has a rosette of leaves at its base and a single white and green, forward leaning flower with a brown tip and a twisted labellum.

<i>Pterostylis alpina</i> species of plant

Pterostylis alpina, commonly known as the mountain greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at the base and usually only one white flower with green markings and back-swept lateral sepals.

<i>Pterostylis baptistii</i> species of plant

Pterostylis baptistii, commonly known as the king greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. Flowering plants have a rosette of stalked, dark green leaves and a single white flower with green and brown markings, and a wide gap between the petals and lateral sepals. It occurs mostly in New South Wales but is also found in coastal Queensland and north-eastern Victoria.

Pterostylis aenigma, commonly known as the enigmatic greenhood is a species of orchid endemic to Victoria. It has a rosette of leaves and a single green and white flower which leans forward and has a brownish point on the end. It is a rare orchid, occurring at only one site with fewer than 100 individual plants and is thought to be a natural hybrid between two species that grow nearby.

<i>Pterostylis atrans</i> species of plant

Pterostylis atrans, commonly known as the dark-tip greenhood or blunt-tongue greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. As with similar greenhoods, plants in flower differ from those that are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground, but the plants in flower have a single flower with leaves on the flowering spike. In this species, the flower is green and reddish brown with a protruding sinus and small club-like tips on the ends of the lateral sepals.

<i>Pterostylis concinna</i> species of plant

Pterostylis concinna, commonly known as the trim greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia and which usually grows in colonies. It has a rosette of leaves at the base and a single dark green, white and orange-red flower.

Pterostylis furcata, commonly known as the forked greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. Flowering plants have a rosette of bright green leaves at the base of the flowering stem and a single green and white flower with the tip of the dorsal sepal pointing above the horizontal.

<i>Pterostylis scabrida</i> species of plant

Pterostylis scabrida, commonly known as the rough greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Tasmania. It has a rosette of leaves at the base of the plant and a single green and white flower on a rough stem. It is widespread and common in wet forests and is one of the few species of Pterostylis to grow in rainforest.

<i>Pterostylis aneba</i> species of plant

Pterostylis aneba is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a recently described and poorly-known greenhood similar to Pterostylis alpina and P. monticola. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at the base of the plant and a single green and white flower. It grows in alpine and sub-alpine habitats.

Pterostylis anatona, commonly known as the Eungella greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a rosette of wrinkled leaves at the base of the plant and a single light green and white flower, reddish towards its tip. It grows in higher areas between Eungella and the Blackdown Tableland National Park.

Pterostylis crassichila, commonly known as the plump northern greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a rosette of leaves at the base of the plant and a single white flower with green lines, reddish towards its tip. It grows in higher areas of north Queensland.

Pterostylis dubia, commonly known as the blue-tongued greenhood, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at its base and a dark green and white flower with narrow petals and a dark blue-green labellum.

<i>Pterostylis hildae</i> species of plant

Pterostylis hildae, commonly known as the rainforest greenhood, is a species of orchid found in eastern Australia. It has a rosette of leaves and when flowering a rosette at the base of a flowering stem with a single green, white and brown flower. It is found in wet forests, including rainforest in New South Wales and Queensland.

Pterostylis procera, commonly known as the short-lipped greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to Queensland. It has a rosette of leaves and when flowering a single translucent white flower with green and reddish markings and a labellum which does not protrude through the lateral sepals.

Pterostylis riparia, commonly known as the streamside greenhood, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. Both flowering and non-flowering plants have a rosette of dark green, fleshy leaves. Flowering plants have a single relatively large green, white and reddish-brown flower with a deeply notched sinus between hairy lateral sepals.

Pterostylis subtilis, commonly known as the thin mountain greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. It has a rosette of leaves and when flowering a single translucent white flower with dark green lines, a narrow, deeply notched sinus between the lateral sepals and a curved, protruding labellum.

Pterostylis tanypoda, commonly known as the swan greenhood, is a species of greenhood orchid endemic to New Zealand. Both flowering and non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves lying flat on the ground and flowering plants have up to seven crowded, inconspicuous bluish-green and white-striped flowers.

<i>Pterostylis torquata</i> species of plant

Pterostylis torquata, commonly known as the collared greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. As with similar greenhoods, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but the flowering plants have a single flower with leaves on the flowering stem. This greenhood has a white flower with dark green and dark brown markings, although in some areas, the flowers lack the brown markings. The sinus between the lateral sepals is platform-like.

Pterostylis oreophila, commonly known as the Kiandra greenhood or blue-tongued greenhood is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. Flowering and non-flowering plants have three to five dark green, fleshy leaves and flowering plants have a single green and white, sickle-shaped flower with a deeply notched, bulging sinus between the lateral sepals.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pterostylis monticola". APNI. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Jones, David L. (1994). "New species of Orchidaceae from south-eastern Australia" (PDF). Muelleria. 8 (2): 189–190. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. pp. 305–306. ISBN   978-1877069123.
  4. 1 2 Jones, David L. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 Jeanes, Jeff. "Pterostylis monticola". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria: vicflora. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
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