Gumland sun orchid | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Orchidaceae |
Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
Tribe: | Diurideae |
Genus: | Thelymitra |
Species: | T. aemula |
Binomial name | |
Thelymitra aemula | |
Thelymitra aemula, commonly called the gumland sun orchid, [2] is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single erect, dark green leaf with a reddish base and up to twenty or more pale mauve to dark sky blue flowers. It is similar to T. ixioides but has a differently coloured lobe on top of the anther.
Thelymitra aemula is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single erect, dark green, linear to lance-shaped leaf 80–260 mm (3–10 in) long and 3.5–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) wide. Between three and ten, sometimes twenty or more pale mauve to dark sky blue flowers, 10–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) wide are borne on a flowering stem sometimes up to 800 mm (30 in) tall. The column is white near its base but mauve to violet with a brown band near the top. The lobe on the top of the anther is yellow and the side lobes have dense, brush-like white hairs. Flowering occurs from November to February. [2] [3]
Thelymitra aemula was first formally described in 1919 by Thomas Frederic Cheeseman from a plant collected near Birkdale and the description was published in Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute . [1] [4] The specific epithet (aemula) is Latin word meaning "emulating" or "rivalling". [5]
The gumland sun orchid grows in sparsely vegetated places in small colonies between Waikato and the tip of the North Island. [2]
Thelymitra alcockiae, commonly called Kath's sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to southern continental Australia. It has a single long, narrow leaf and up to twelve pale blue to deep purplish blue flowers, mauve or reddish on their back side.
Thelymitra malvina, commonly called the mauve-tufted sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is native to eastern Australia and New Zealand. It has a single large, fleshy leaf and up to twenty five blue to mauve flowers with pink or mauve tufts on top of the anther.
Thelymitra cyanapicata, commonly called the dark-tipped sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to South Australia. It has a single fleshy, linear, channelled leaf and up to three small blue or pale purplish to maroon flowers with a dark purplish blue top of the anther.
Thelymitra granitora, commonly called the coastal granite sun orchid or coastal sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single short, curved and channelled dark green leaf and up to eight relatively large pale blue or white, self-pollinating flowers with white mop-like tufts on the top of the anther.
Thelymitra holmesii, commonly called the blue star sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single long, narrow, fleshy leaf and up to nine purplish blue to mauve flowers with a deeply notched lobe on top of the anther.
Thelymitra pallidiflora, commonly called the pale sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Victoria. It has a single erect, channelled, leaf and up to ten white to very pale blue, self-pollinating flowers which only open on hot days.
Thelymitra azurea, commonly called the azure sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single fleshy, grass-like leaf and up to ten dark azure blue flowers with darker veins. The lobe on top of the anther has a toothed or warty tip.
Thelymitra canaliculata, commonly called the flushed sun orchid or blue sun orchid is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, fleshy leaf and up to twenty eight blue flowers with darker veins and sometimes flushed with pink. The lobe on top of the anther is blackish with a yellow crest.
Thelymitra latiloba, commonly called the wandoo sun orchid or wandoo shirt orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single erect, fleshy, channelled, dark green leaf and up to twelve blue flowers with darker blue veins and sometimes flushed with mauve. The lobe on top of the anther is wavy.
Thelymitra colensoi, commonly called Colenso's sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to seven pale blue or mauve to pink flowers. It is similar to T. pauciflora but is smaller and less robust than that species.
Thelymitra × chasmogama, commonly called the globe-hood sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single tapering, channelled leaf with a reddish base and up to six bright pink flowers with pale yellow tufts on top of the anther. It is a natural hybrid between T. luteocilium and T. megacalyptra.
Thelymitra × truncata, commonly called the truncate sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single tapering, more or less flat leaf with a reddish base and up to six blue, pink or white flowers with a tube-shaped lobe on top of the anther. It is a natural hybrid between a range of species, including T. pauciflora and T. ixioides.
Thelymitra formosa, commonly called the sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single channelled, dark to reddish green leaf and up to fifteen blue flowers. The lobe on top of the anther has yellowish red edges and the arms on the sides of the column have tufts of yellow or orange hairs.
Thelymitra glaucophylla is a species of orchid that is endemic to South Australia. It has a single erect, channelled, pale green leaf and up to fifteen pale blue, mauve or white flowers with an inflated, greyish lobe on top of the anther.
Thelymitra petrophila, commonly known as the granite sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single erect, channelled, long light green leaf and up to ten or more pale blue to mauve or pink flowers. It grows in drier area, usually in shallow soil pockets on granite outcrops.
Thelymitra × dentata, commonly called hybrid sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to six blue or pink flowers with prominent dark blue stripes. It is a natural hybrid between T. longifolia and T. pulchella and is only found where the parent species occur together.
Thelymitra hatchii, commonly called Hatch's sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single erect, deeply channelled, dark reddish green leaf and up to eight mauve or pink flowers. The lobe on top of the anther is red with a yellow top and the arms on the sides of the column have tufts of pale yellow hairs.
Thelymitra latifolia is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It has a single broad, flat, dark green and reddish leaf and up to eight blue to mauve flowers which only open on warm, humid days.
Thelymitra nervosa, commonly called the spotted sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single broad, channelled leaf and up to ten blue flowers with darker spots.
Thelymitra pulchella, commonly called the striped sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae that is endemic to New Zealand. It has a single erect, fleshy, channelled leaf and up to fourteen blue flowers with darker stripes on the petal and sometimes also on the sepals. The column and its lobes are variable in shape and colour.