#pterostylis

Actually a fair-sized orchid - that isn't a Nasturtium in the background of the first photo.

Growing widely on the north end of South Island, in forest and scrub, often on the side of streams or in dense leaf litter from near Nelson to Arthurs Pass National Park but most often on limestone or marble. They can be abundant on marble.

First formally described by Scottish botanist Donald Petrie in 1894, and named atfer Professor Daniel Oliver of Kew Gardens.

Pterostylis parts.

AKA Pterostylis furcata var. linearis.

An orchid endemic to the North, South, and Chatham Islands, and despite the specific is found in a wide range of habitats from dense forest to peat bogs.

The 300-odd species of Greenhood orchid are also found in Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and one Indonesian island. The first species described from New Zealand was the Tutukiwi in 1832, by Allan Cunningham. He named it Pterostylis macrophylla but did not publish his manuscript. Later it was recognised as the same as one collected by Joseph Banks on the Endeavour. With Cunningham's consent, the plant was named Pterostylis banksii in honour of Banks.

AKA Western Bearded Greenhood. 

An unusual Greenhood orchid fround from Perth to Albany, all the way out to the edge of the Wheatbelt, and often associated with she-oaks. The hood is rolled into a tube, and seems evolved to trap pollinating gnats, especially since the gnats are first attracted to a scent on the feather-like labellum, which then swings up to sweep the gnat into the hood. 

There’s a number of related bearded greenhoods, all with a feather-like labellum (barbata means bearded, in fact) but there’s also at least a dozen undescribed Pterostylis over here, so the range may get broken up in future.