Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells
Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Greenhoods galore in Macquarie Pass rainforest.

Within the rainforest, just about 5 Km east of Robertson, in the Macquarie Pass area, there were many Greenhoods flowering today. Some were plants which I have not seen before. Obviously they are winter flowerers. Today they were flowering in the drizzle.

The first ones I found were a large group of Pterostylis hildae. They were growing in a sheet of a kind of moss (I think) which resembles a miniature conifer forest.

Here is a close-up of the front of Pt. hildae. Its tonue is clearly visible. The tip of the hood is pinkish-brown. The lateral sepals (which form the "sinus" in front of the flower) are widely spread. The tips of those sepals (the "ears") are wide spread, and not held high.
Here is Pt. hildae seen from the side.

In this photo below, you can see the rear of a flower of Pt. hildae, with another species of Greenhood, which is smaller, and much darker, with high-held "ears" or "points". Its hood is flattish on top, but quite pointed and fine. It is a very different plant from the other Greenhood.Here is a front-on view of the dark Greenhood. It has a small tongue (barely visible), a deeply notched "sinus" in the front of the flower, and widely spread "ears" or "points". At this stage, my identification of this flower is uncertain, but it might be Pt. pedunculata, which is known as the "Maroonhood".

I am seeking advice from an Illawarra orchid expert to seek to identify this plant positively, and another plant of which I have not yet published the photos. But I thought I would start with the Pt. hildae photos, which I was fairly confident of.

As with previous postings, I am always prepared to accept further advice, when it comes to identifying these plants.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hi Denis,

I've never seen Pt. hildae, it's a beauty - could be a child with a mouth bulging with popcorn and cheeky tongue poking out :)

I found some dark greenhoods last week that I think are Pterostylis pedunculata, so I will be interested in what your contacts have to say about the identification of your "Maroonhoods".

Gaye