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Greenhood
Nodding Greenhood - Pterostylis
nutans
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Gg
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Greenhoods are orchids which grow, mainly, in sandy soils. The hood is the flower and it is made up of petals and sepals that fold over each other to enclose the pollen and style.
The Nodding Greenhood takes its name from the way that the hood curves forward as if it is nodding to the plants around it. Inside the hood, at the bottom, is a narrow petal called a labellum or lip (labellum is a scientific name for lip). This lip normally hangs downwards but if an insect visits the flower, by climbing inside the hood, the lip will flick upwards and trap the insect inside for a little while. The insect will usually struggle to get free and in the process pick up pollen from inside the flower. The pollen will then be taken to the next flower the insect visits (insects must have short memories as they will visit lots of flowers and get trapped every time) so that the plant can be fertilised.
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