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Project Noah Nature School
A small terrestrial orchid, about 20 cm tall with flowers 10mm across.
Dry sclerophyll bushland on a south-facing slope.
Flowers December to February.
Spotted on Dec 19, 2010
Submitted on Dec 19, 2010
3 Comments
Wow! Looking forward to seeing the other four!
We have five species of "greenhood" orchids (list below) growing wild on our property. They all rely on small wasps to pollinate them. The "hoods" keep the wasps trapped inside longer and some even have a hinged "tongue" that flips up and closes off the hood temporarily, making it even harder for the wasp to exit without getting thoroughly covered in pollen.
Pterostylis decurva Summer greenhood
Pterostylis melagramma Black-stripe greenhood
Pterostylis nutans Nodding greenhood
Pterostylis pedunculata Maroonhood
Pterostylis stenochila Green-stripe greenhood
What an interesting flower!