Pterostylis aciculiformis
(Nicholls) M.A.Clem. & D.L.JonesFlowering plant to 25 cm tall, stem leaves 3–6, closely sheathing. Rosette leaves 5–12, oblong to elliptic, 1–3 cm long, 5–12 mm wide, margins entire. Flowers 1–12, 13–16 mm long, transparent with green and tan suffusions, semi-nodding; dorsal sepal with an upcurved filiform point to 1.5–3 mm long; lateral sepals swept back, conjoined part elliptic in outline when flattened, shallowly concave, usually wider than the galea, margins incurved, glabrous, free points 4–7 mm long, parallel; petals with a poorly developed proximal flange. Labellum oblong, c. 4 mm long, c 2 mm wide, thick; marginal hairs in 5–12 pairs, 1–2.5 mm long, white, basal lobe hardly raised, with numerous white hairs c. 0.5 mm long. Flowers Sep.–Dec.
LoM, Wim, GleP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, EGL, EGU, HSF. Also NSW, ACT. Scattered across northern Victoria, with a few outliers south of the Dividing Range (e.g. Heywood area, Brisbane Ranges, Hurstbridge, Wulgulmerang), mostly in drier open forest and woodlands, sometimes in mallee scrub, on shallow stony or gravelly soil.
Similar to P. pusilla, but that species is predominantly from mallee communities, has smaller flowers with larger petal flanges toward the bases of the petals and more strongly incurved lateral sepal margins - the conjoined part of the sepals being narrower than the galea.
Jones, D.L. (1994). Pterostylis. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 798–830. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning