Australian Native Plants

  Pterostylis nutans (Nodding Greenhood)


Pterostylis nutans photo
Pterostylis nutans Belgave South, Victoria, Australia

Photograph by Melburnian. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)




NODDING GREENHOOD FACTS

distribution map showing range of Pterostylis nutans in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Nodding Greenhood

Other Names
Parrot's Beak Orchid

Description
Nodding Greenhood is an Australian orchid found in the eastern states. The plant has a rosette of three to six oval shaped leaves that grow to a length of 9 cm at the base. The green hooded flowers droop downwards and are about 2.5 cm long and produced on a stem about 30 cm tall. Flowering is in winter and spring (July to October). The plants die back in summer.

Habitat
grows in damp protected areas in rainforest, eucalypt forest and scrubland.

Distribution
Pterostylis nutans is found in eastern Queensland except far north east, eastern New South Wales, Victoria, south east parts of South Australia and also Tasmania

Growth Characteristics
Height: 30 cm
Classification
Class:Liliopsida
Order:Asparagales
Family:Orchidaceae
Genus:Pterostylis
Species:nutans
Common Name:Nodding Greenhood


Relatives in same Genus
  Pterostylis alpina
  Pterostylis baptistii
  Pterostylis barbata
  Pterostylis coccina
  Pterostylis curta
  Pterostylis melagramma
  Pterostylis pyramidalis
  Pterostylis recurva
  Pterostylis sanguinea
  Pterostylis sargentii
  Pterostylis stenochila
  Pterostylis vittata