Coastal banded greenhood facts for kids

The Pterostylis flavovirens, also known as the coastal banded greenhood, is a unique plant. It belongs to the amazing orchid family. This special orchid is found only in South Australia, meaning it is endemic to that area.

Like some other orchids, this plant looks different depending on if it's flowering or not. When it flowers, it has up to seven pale green flowers with darker green stripes. These flowers have a part called a labellum that looks a bit like an insect. This labellum is yellowish-green with a darker stripe down its middle. Plants that are not flowering have a group of leaves shaped like a circle, called a rosette. But flowering plants don't have this rosette; instead, they have leaves on their stem.

What Does the Coastal Banded Greenhood Look Like?

The Coastal Banded Greenhood is a plant that grows from a special underground part called a tuber. It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also deciduous, so it loses its leaves at certain times.

When the plant is not flowering, it has a rosette of three to five egg-shaped leaves. Each leaf is about 5 to 27 millimeters (0.2 to 1.1 inches) long. They are about 3 to 9 millimeters (0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide. These leaves grow on a stalk that is 20 to 50 millimeters (0.8 to 2.0 inches) tall.

Flowering plants can have up to seven flowers. These flowers are a clear, pale green with darker green stripes. They grow on a flowering spike that can be 30 to 200 millimeters (1.2 to 7.9 inches) high. This spike also has three to six egg-shaped leaves. These stem leaves are 5 to 40 millimeters (0.2 to 1.6 inches) long and 2 to 9 millimeters (0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide.

The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, joins with the petals to form a hood. This hood covers a central part of the flower called the column. The dorsal sepal is about 12 to 15 millimeters (0.5 to 0.6 inches) long and curves slightly, often with a brownish tip. The petals are 9 to 12 millimeters (0.4 to 0.5 inches) long and about 2 millimeters (0.1 inches) wide.

The lower sepals are 9 to 13.5 millimeters (0.4 to 0.5 inches) long. They are mostly joined together, forming a structure that is 4 to 6 millimeters (0.16 to 0.24 inches) wide. The labellum, which looks like an insect, is 4.5 to 6 millimeters (0.18 to 0.24 inches) long and about 2 millimeters (0.1 inches) wide. It has a darker green stripe down its middle.

You can see these orchids flowering from July to September.

How the Coastal Banded Greenhood Got Its Name

This orchid was first officially described in 2006 by a botanist named David Jones. He first named it Bunochilus flavovirens. His description was published in a science journal called Australian Orchid Research. He found the plant near Port Lincoln.

Later, in 2008, another botanist named Robert Bates changed its name to Pterostylis flavovirens. The second part of its scientific name, flavovirens, comes from two Latin words. Flavus means "golden-yellow" or "yellow," and virens means "green." These words describe the yellowish-green color of the labellum, the insect-like part of the flower.

Where Does the Coastal Banded Greenhood Live?

The Pterostylis flavovirens orchid grows in areas along the coast of South Australia. You can find it in places like the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, the southern Lofty region, Kangaroo Island, and the South-Eastern botanical regions. It often grows in piles of fallen leaves and other plant bits under small trees and shrubs.

Other Interesting Plants

• Pterostylis orbiculata, another plant found only in the south-west of Western Australia. It is also known as the coastal banded greenhood.