About Pterostylis barbata Lindl.
Pterostylis barbata Lindl. is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous herb that grows from an underground tuber. When it is not flowering, it produces a rosette of stalkless, pointed leaves. Flowering individuals keep a similar rosette and also grow between ten and twenty leaves along their flowering stem. The leaves are 15–45 mm (0.6–2 in) long and 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide, and are dark green with pale patches. There is usually only one single flower per flowering stem, which is 200–350 mm (8–10 in) tall. The flower itself is 55–65 mm (2–3 in) long and 12–14 mm (0.5–0.6 in) wide, leans slightly forward, and is shiny pale translucent green with darker green veins and purple-brown markings at the front. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused together to form a hood, called a "galea", that covers the column, and the dorsal sepal has a thin point 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long. The lateral sepals are joined at their dark reddish bases, and their free portions are narrow, green, and 25–30 mm (0.98–1.2 in) long. The labellum is 22–25 mm (0.9–1 in) long and feather-like, with a few pale yellow thread-shaped branches and a dark brown knob at its tip. Flowering takes place from July to September. This species, commonly known as the Western bearded orchid, grows in shrubby woodland and forest, often in thick Casuarina leaf litter, and typically grows in small clumps. It is found between Bindoon and Albany, and is common in the Darling Range near Perth. Its recorded range covers the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions of Western Australia. There are twelve currently undescribed species of Pterostylis in Western Australia, and the known range of Pterostylis barbata may be redefined once these undescribed species are formally published.
