Floodplain rustyhood

Description

Pterostylis cheraphila is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It has a rosette of between six and twelve leaves at the base of the flowering spike, each leaf 6–22 mm (0.2–0.9 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. Up to seven dark brown to blackish flowers 25–32 mm (0.98–1.3 in) long and 10–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) wide are borne on a flowering spike 60–250 mm (2–10 in) tall. Three to five stem leaves are wrapped around the flowering spike. The dorsal sepal and petals form a hood called the "galea" over the column with the dorsal sepal having a thread-like tip 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. The lateral sepals are wider than the galea, dished and have densely hairy edges. They taper suddenly to narrow, thread-like tips 10–23 mm (0.4–0.9 in) long and are more or less parallel to each other. The labellum is dark brown, thin and insect-like, 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide. The edges of the labellum are wavy, with short, bristly hairs and there are two longer bristles near the "head" end. Flowering occurs from October to November.