Pterostylis curta, commonly known as the blunt greenhood, is a species of orchid found in south-eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Caledonia. It has a rosette of leaves at its base and a single white and green, forward leaning flower with a brown tip and a twisted labellum.
Pterostylis curta has a rosette of between two and six egg-shaped to elliptic leaves, each leaf NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The leaves are dark green, have a distinct petiole and sometimes a wavy edge. A single white and green flower with a brown tip is borne on a flowering spike NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 high, the flower leaning forwards. The flowers are NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused to form a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal and petals are a similar length and end in a blunt tip. There is a wide gap at each side of the flower between the petals and lateral sepals. The lateral sepals are erect, about the same length as the galea, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and there is a broad V-shaped sinus between them. The labellum is NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 wide, brown, twisted to one side and just visible above the sinus. Flowering occurs from July to October.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Pterostylis curta was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[5] [6] The specific epithet (curta) means "short".[7]
The blunt greenhood is widespread and common in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, growing in moist places in heath, scrub, woodland and forest.[8] It also occurs on Lord Howe Island and in New Caledonia but is rare in South Australia.[9] [10]
Pterostylis curta has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[11] It 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.[12] [13]