This orchid is only known from a few places in the Anglesea district so it was very exciting to discover it flowering in a Moggs Creek bush block where it had been relocated from a building site in Aireys Inlet a few years ago. The Autumn Greenhood, Pterostylis ampliata, is a large greenhood with a long, pointed hood, the dorsal sepal extending beyond the petals.
Autumn Greenhood
The labellum is also long and extends well beyond the flower opening. Non-flowering plants develop a rosette at ground level while the flowering orchid does not. The flowering plant has several stem leaves. We all need to keep a lookout for this species in the next couple of months and hopefully we will find it flowering in other locations.
Margaret MacDonald and Alison Watson