About Pterostylis pusilla R.S.Rogers
Pterostylis pusilla R.S.Rogers is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous herb that grows from an underground tuber. It produces a rosette of three to eight leaves, with each leaf measuring 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long and 5–12 mm (0.2–0.5 in) wide. On flowering plants, this rosette sits at the base of the flowering stem, which grows to 80–250 mm (3–10 in) tall and bears up to nine flowers. Each flower is green and reddish-brown with translucent white panels, and measures 13–16 mm (0.5–0.6 in) long and approximately 5 mm (0.20 in) wide. Between two and four stem leaves grow on the flowering stem, with their bases wrapped around the stem. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused to form a hood called the "galea" over the column; the dorsal sepal has a narrow, upturned point that is 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The lateral sepals turn downwards, are much narrower than the galea, and have thread-like tips 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. The labellum is relatively thick, reddish-brown, and insect-like, measuring about 4 mm (0.2 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. Its "head" end has many short hairs, and two to four longer hairs grow on each side of the labellum's body. Flowering occurs from September to October. Commonly called the tiny rustyhood, this orchid usually grows in leaf litter in open forest or mallee scrub, in stony soil. It is found in New South Wales south from Temora, across Victoria, and in the south of South Australia, occurring in regions with an average annual rainfall of 250–600 mm (10–20 in).
