Pterostylis hians

Pterostylis hians, commonly known as the opera house greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to New South Wales. Non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves flat on the ground but flowering plants have a single shiny white and green flower. This greenhood is only known from a single location near Ulladulla.

Opera house greenhood
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Pterostylis
Species:
P. hians
Binomial name
Pterostylis hians
Synonyms[1]

Diplodium hians (D.L.Jones) D.L.Jones & M.A.Clem.

Description

Pterostylis hians is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of dark green, more or less round leaves, each leaf 8–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long and 9–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide. Flowering plants have a single bright green and white flower 13–16 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 10–16 mm (0.4–0.6 in) wide on a stem 100–300 mm (4–10 in) tall. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column and the dorsal sepal has a short, sharply pointed tip. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea, have erect thread-like tips 9–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long and a protruding, platform-like sinus between their bases. The labellum is about 5 mm (0.2 in) long and 3 mm (0.1 in) wide, just visible above the sinus. Flowering occurs from March to May.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis hians was first formally described in 1997 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Manyana and the description was published in The Orchadian.[3] The specific epithet (hians) is a Latin word meaning "gaping" or "yawning".[4]

Distribution and habitat

The opera house greenhood grows in shrubby forest in a small area near Ulladulla.[2][5]

References
  1. "Pterostylis hians". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Jones, David L. (2006). A complete guide to native orchids of Australia including the island territories. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland. p. 289. ISBN 978-1877069123.
  3. "Pterostylis hians". APNI. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 574.
  5. "Pterostylis hians". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
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