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Nodding greenhood

Pterostylis nutans

Nodding greenhood
Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Native range
SE. Queensland to SE. Australia, New Zealand North I.
Climate
subtropical

About

Pterostylis nutans, commonly known as the nodding greenhood or the parrot's beak orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. Nodding greenhoods have flowers which "nod" or lean forwards strongly, have a deeply notched sinus and a curved, hairy labellum.

How to grow it

Pterostylis nutans is easily grown in pots containing a free-draining, sandy mix. The plants require regular watering during their growing period, to be kept dry during dormancy and to be repotted annually.

Where it grows

Nodding greenhoods often occur in large colonies in moist, protected forest environments and is native to the Australian states of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland as well as the Australian Capital Territory. In Queensland it grows as far north as the Atherton Tableland, in the eastern half of New South Wales, the southern half of Victoria, the south-eastern corner of South Australia and in Tasmania, including King and Flinders Islands. It has also been found in New Zealand but is regarded as a vagrant there because the insect pollinator is not present in that country. There is a single population remaining near the Waihaha River, although there have been records from Kaitaia and Castor Bay.

Other Pterostylis plants

Tablelands greenhood · Needle-point rustyhood · Pterostylis actites · Sharp greenhood · Long-tongued summer greenhood · Kauri Greenhood · Sutton Grange Greenhood · Striped greenhood · Shy greenhood · Winter Greenhood · Alpine greenhood · Coastal greenhood

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pterostylis nutans by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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