Tall tiny greenhood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tall tiny greenhood |
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| Pterostylis multiflora growing in the Namadgi National Park | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pterostylis
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| Species: |
multiflora
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| Synonyms | |
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Speculantha multiflora D.L.Jones |
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The tall tiny greenhood (Pterostylis multiflora) is a special type of orchid. It grows only in south-eastern Australia. Like many orchids, this plant looks different depending on whether it's flowering or not. When it's not flowering, it has a group of leaves that lie flat on the ground, like a small circle. But when it's ready to bloom in summer, it grows a tall stem with up to twenty tiny green, white, and brown flowers. This stem also has a few leaves wrapped around it.
What Does It Look Like?
The tall tiny greenhood is a plant that lives on land. It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It's also deciduous, so its leaves fall off at certain times. This plant is a herb, which means it has soft stems, not woody ones.
Underground, it has a special part called a tuber. This tuber helps the plant store food. When the plant is not flowering, it has a group of three to eight leaves. These leaves are shaped like an egg or a heart. They lie flat on the ground. Each leaf is about 8 to 23 millimeters (0.3 to 0.9 inches) long. They are also about 5 to 15 millimeters (0.2 to 0.6 inches) wide.
When the plant flowers, it grows a tall spike. This spike can be 200 to 450 millimeters (8 to 18 inches) high. It has between three and twenty flowers. The flowers are small, about 8 to 10 millimeters (0.3 to 0.4 inches) long. They are packed closely together on the spike. The flowering spike also has three to six leaves wrapped around it.
Flower Details
The flowers are green and white near their bottom parts. They become brownish closer to their tips. The top part of the flower, called the dorsal sepal, and the petals are joined together. They form a hood over the column, which is a central part of the orchid flower. This hood is called a "galea." The galea stands up straight at its base, then curves forward.
The side parts of the flower, called the lateral sepals, also stand up straight. They stay close to the galea. Their narrow tips are about 3 millimeters (0.1 inches) long. These tips do not stick out above the galea. There is a small dip, or "notch," where the bases of the lateral sepals meet.
The labellum is a special lip-like petal. It is about 3 to 4 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) long. It is about 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inches) wide. You usually cannot see the labellum from outside the flower. This orchid blooms from January to March.
How It Got Its Name
This greenhood orchid was first officially described in 2008. A scientist named David Jones gave it the name Speculantha multiflora. He wrote about it in a book called Australian Orchid Research.
Then, in 2010, another scientist named Gary Backhouse changed its name. He renamed it Pterostylis multiflora. The second part of its name, multiflora, comes from a Latin word. It means "many-flowered," which makes sense because this orchid can have many flowers on one stem!
Where It Lives
The tall tiny greenhood grows in certain places in south-eastern Australia. You can find it in north-eastern Victoria. It likes to grow in open forests. These forests usually have grasses or small shrubs growing in them.
