Pterostylis stricta

Pterostylis stricta is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of wrinkled leaves. Each leaf is 15–60 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) wide. When flowering, there is a single white flower with green lines and a reddish-brown tip, 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long and 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide which is borne on a flowering spike 100–300 mm (4–10 in) high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused to form a hood or "galea" over the column, the dorsal sepal about the same length as the petals, all with a sharp point. There is a wide gap at each side of the flower between the petals and lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect with a tapering tip 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long and there is a broad, bulging sinus between them. The labellum is 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide, dark reddish-brown and curved, protruding above the sinus. Flowering occurs from March to July.[2][3]

Pterostylis stricta was first described in 1972 by Stephen Clemesha and Bruce Gray and the description was published in The Orchadian from a specimen collected near Ravenshoe.[4] The specific epithet (stricta) is a Latin word meaning "draw together", "hold in check" or "bind".[5]

The northern greenhood grows with grasses and in sheltered gullies in forest between Mount Finnigan and Paluma at altitudes of between 800 and 1,250 m (2,600 and 4,100 ft).[2][3]