Thelymitra arenaria
Forest Sun Orchid
Forest Sun Orchid
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Epidendroideae > Dendrobieae > Thelymitra arenaria
Other links:
Common name: Forest Sun Orchid
Conservation status: unknown
Etymology:
The specific epithet (arenaria) is a Latin word meaning "of sand" or "sandy"
Flowers:
Between two and sixteen purplish flowers 16–26 mm wide are borne on a flowering stem 240–400 mm tall
There are usually two bracts on the flowering stem
The sepals and petals are 8–15 mm long and 4–8 mm wide
The column is pale blue with dark blue streaks, 4.5–6 mm long and 2.5–3.5 mm wide
The lobe on the top of the anther is dark brown with a yellow tip and gently curved
The side lobes curve upwards and have dense, hairbrush-like tufts of white hairs
The flowers are self-pollinating and only open on warm to hot, humid days
Flowering occurs from October to December
Fruit:
Leaves:
A single leathery, channelled, dark green linear to lance-shaped leaf
150–300 mm long and 8–18 mm wide with a purplish base
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
It is a tuberous, perennial herb
It has a single long, narrow leaf
Habitat:
It grows in a wide range of habitats from grassland to forest
Distribution:
Endemic to south-eastern Australia
Found in southern NSW, ACT, in the southern half of Victoria, in south-eastern South Australia and in Tasmania
It is widespread and common within most of its range
Additional notes:
Taxonomy
It was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley from a specimen collected in Tasmania and the description was published in his book The genera and species of Orchidaceous plants
Sources of information:
(2023)