Pterostylis hamata, commonly known as the southern hooked rustyhood, is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It has a rosette of leaves and between two and twelve transparent flowers with green and brown markings, a thick, brown, insect-like labellum and dished lateral sepals.
Pterostylis hamata, is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It has a rosette of between six and fifteen egg-shaped leaves at the base of the flowering spike, each leaf NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. Between two and twelve transparent flowers with green and brown markings, each flower NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide, are borne on a flowering spike NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 tall. Two to eight stem leaves are wrapped around the flowering spike. The dorsal sepal and petals form a hood or "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having a downturned, thread-like point NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long. The lateral sepals turn downwards and are joined for about half their length and shallowly dished with the edges curved inwards. The lateral sepals also suddenly narrow to thread-like tips NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long which curve forwards with hooked ends. The labellum is brown, fleshy, insect-like, about 5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long, 2sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide and grooved and has long and short bristles around its edges. Flowering occurs from September to November.[1] [2] [3]
Pterostylis hamata was first formally described in 1968 by John Blackmore and Stephen Clemesha from a specimen collected near Koorawatha and the description was published in The Orchadian.[4] The specific epithet (hamata) is a Latin word meaning "hooked".[5]
The southern hooked rustyhood occurs in the eastern half of New South Wales, the north-east corner of Victoria and in Queensland, growing in rocky places in open forest.