Species profile—Pterostylis woollsii (long-tailed greenhood)

Classification

Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Orchidaceae → Pterostylis woollsii (long-tailed greenhood)

Species details

Kingdom

Plantae (plants)

Class

Equisetopsida (land plants)

Family

Orchidaceae

Scientific name

Pterostylis woollsii Fitzg.

Common name

long-tailed greenhood

WildNet taxon ID

8557

Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status

Least concern

Back on Track (BoT) status

Low

Conservation significant

No

Confidential

Yes

Endemicity

Native

Pest status

Nil

Description

Pterostylis woollsii is a terrestrial herb with 6 to 10 rosette forming leaves that are broadly ovate to lanceolate, 1.5 to 3.5 cm long by 8 to 14 mm wide; the margins are entire. The scape to 45 cm high, with 2 to 5 closely sheathing stem leaves. The inflorescence consists of 1 to 6 flowers each about 3.5 cm long, transparent with green and reddish tonings, semi-erect to erect. The dorsal sepal with an upcurved filiform point about 1.5 cm long. The lateral sepals are broad-ovate in outline when flattened; the joined part is deeply concave with the margins strongly incurved, ciliate; free points long-filiform, 100 to 130 mm long, deflexed, parallel, about 15 mm apart at the tips. The petals with a poorly developed proximal flange. The labellum is elliptic to obovate, 12 to 15 mm long by 3 to 4 mm wide, reddish brown, thin textured, with the apex beaked; marginal trichomes 8 to 10 pairs, about 3 mm long; basal lobe extended backwards, about 3 mm long, with a single erect pair of trichomes about 6 mm long at the base and another pair about 2 mm long at the apex (Jones, in Harden, 1993).

Habitat

Pterostylis woollsii grows in eucalypt woodlands and open forests, with Callitris or Allocasuarina on sandy soils or among rocks on ridges and slopes (Jones, D.L. in Harden).

Reproduction

Pterostylis woollsii flowers October to December. (Queensland Herbarium 2011).

Status notes

Pterostylis woollsii is listed as Near Threatened under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.

Notes

Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral district: Darling Downs. Also occurs in NSW and Victoria. Oligochaetochilus woollsii is a synonym.

References

Jones, D.L. (2010). A new species of Oligochaetochilus (Orchidaceae) from Queensland with affinities to O. woollsii. The Orchadian 16 (8): 370-372.
Jones, D.L. in Harden, G.J. (Ed) (1993). Flora of New South Wales 4: 185-186.
Jones, D.L. in Stanley, T.D. and Ross, E.M. (1989). Flora of South-eastern Queensland 3: 406.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 21/02/2012.

Profile author

Ronald Booth (25/06/2012)

Other resources

Data source

This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.