summer greenhood

Pterostylis decurva is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of two to five leaves often held above the ground on a stalk up to 100 mm long. Each leaf is oblong to egg-shaped, 10–30 mm long and 10–20 mm wide. Flowering plants have a single flower 18–25 mm long and 7–9 mm wide borne on a spike 150–300 mm high with four or five stem leaves. The flowers are white with green stripes and a brown tinge in the galea. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal curves forward, often downwards, with a thread-like tip 15–20 mm long. The lateral sepals are held closely against the galea, have an erect, thread-like tip 30–40 mm long and a broad, slightly protruding, U-shaped sinus between their bases. The labellum is 12–15 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, brown, blunt, and curved and protrudes above the sinus. Flowering occurs from October to March.

The summer greenhood grows on the higher parts of the ranges and tablelands of Victoria, New South Wales south from Werrikimbe National Park and Tasmania where it sometimes also grows at lower altitudes.

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