Eungella greenhood facts for kids

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.

Description

Pterostylis anatona is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of dark green, wrinkled leaves 15–45 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 9–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) wide. A single light green and white flower 37–44 mm (1–2 in) long and 15–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) wide with a reddish-brown tip is borne on a spike 60–180 mm (2–7 in) high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal is slightly shorter than the petals. There is a wide gap between the galea and the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect and have narrow tips 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) long and a bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is 18–22 mm (0.7–0.9 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide, reddish-brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from June to August.

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis anatona was first formally described in 1997 by David Jones and the description was published in The Orchadian from a specimen collected near Eungella. The specific epithet (anatona) is a Latin word meaning "stretching or extending upward".

Distribution and habitat

The Eungella greenhood grows in forest with a grassy understorey above 800 m (3,000 ft) between Eungella and the Blackdown Tableland.