Pterostylis aneba

Pterostylis aneba
Pterostylis aneba growing near Jindabyne
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Orchidoideae
Tribe:	Cranichideae
Genus:	Pterostylis
Species:	P. aneba
Binomial name
Pterostylis aneba D.L.Jones

Pterostylis aneba is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a recently described and poorly-known greenhood similar to Pterostylis alpina and P. monticola. It has a rosette of fleshy leaves at the base of the plant and a single green and white flower. It grows in alpine and sub-alpine habitats.

Description

Pterostylis aneba is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a rosette of three to five egg-shaped leaves surrounding the base of the flowering stem. Each leaf is 30–60 mm (1–2 in) long and 8–16 mm (0.3–0.6 in) wide. A single green and white flower about 30–40 mm (1–2 in) long is borne on a spike up to 200 mm (8 in) high. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal is the same length as the petals and curves forward with a pointed tip. There is a gap between the galea and the lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect and have thread-like tips 15–20 mm long and a slightly bulging V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is 15–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) long, about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide, green or brown and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from December to February.

Taxonomy and naming

Pterostylis aneba was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research from a specimen collected at Packers Swamp, west of Bemboka.

Distribution and habitat

This greenhood grows in moist grassy areas in montane forest and near streams in southern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria.