About Pterostylis viriosa (D.L.Jones) R.J.Bates
Pterostylis viriosa is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous herb that grows from an underground tuber. Non-flowering individuals produce a leaf rosette on a short stalk. Flowering plants bear up to several green flowers with faint white stripes on a flowering spike that can reach up to 800 mm (30 in) tall. This flowering spike does not have a basal rosette, but instead bears a small number of stem leaves. The dorsal sepal and petals of the flower are fused, forming a hood called a "galea" that covers the column. The petals have a wide, transparent flange along their outer edges. The lateral sepals curve downwards, are joined along most of their length, and taper to triangular tips. The labellum is insect-shaped and hairy, with a dark green mound on its head-like end and a dark green mid-line. Flowering takes place from late July to early September. This species, commonly called the Adelaide Hills banded greenhood, is distributed across the Fleurieu (KAN02), Mount Lofty Ranges (FLB01), Central Flinders (FLB06) and Talia (EYB04) biogeographic regions of South Australia.
