Thelymitra pulchella

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Striped sun orchid
Thelymitra pulchella.jpg
Thelymitra pulchella growing near Leith Valley
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Diurideae
Genus: Thelymitra
Species:
T. pulchella
Binomial name
Thelymitra pulchella
Synonyms [1]
  • Thelymitra concinna Cheeseman
  • Thelymitra fimbriataColenso
  • Thelymitra pachyphyllaCheeseman
  • Thelymitra caesia Petrie

Thelymitra pulchella, commonly called the striped sun orchid, [2] 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.

Contents

Description

Thelymitra pulchella is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single erect, fleshy, channelled leaf 80–240 mm (3–9 in) long and 6–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) wide. Up to fourteen blue, sometimes pink or white 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 petals, and sometimes also the sepals have dark blue stripes. The column is dark blue, pink, mauve or white and 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. The arms on the sides of the column are reddish brown and sometimes have red or yellow teeth. The lobe on top of the anther is variable in colour and shape but often has irregular teeth. Flowering occurs from October to January. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Thelymitra pulchella was first formally described in 1853 by Joseph Dalton Hooker and the description was published in Flora Novae-Zelandiae . [1] [4] The specific epithet (pulchella) is the diminutive form of the Latin word pulcher meaning "beautiful". [5] Hooker described this species as "very handsome". [4]

Distribution and habitat

The striped sun orchid grows in open shrubland and often in wetland. It is found on the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands. [2] [3]

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<i>Thelymitra cyanea</i> Species of orchid

Thelymitra cyanea, commonly known as the veined sun orchid in Australia and as the swamp sun orchid or striped sun orchid in New Zealand, is a species of orchid which is native to New Zealand and south-eastern Australia. It has a single erect, fleshy, channelled leaf and up to five bright blue flowers with darker blue veins. It is usually found growing in swamps, sphagnum bogs, and subalpine herbfields, often in clonal colonies.

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<i>Thelymitra nuda</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Genoplesium nudum</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Thelymitra carnea</i> Species of orchid

Thelymitra carnea, commonly called the tiny sun orchid or pinkish sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is native to Australia and New Zealand. It has narrow, almost cylindrical leaves and up to four relatively small pale to deep pink flowers on a wiry, zig-zag stem.

Thelymitra lucida, commonly called the glistening sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south eastern Australia. It has a single erect, fleshy leaf and up to seven dark blue flowers with the sepals a lighter blue than the petals.

Thelymitra hiemalis, commonly called the winter sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Victoria. It is a winter flowering orchid with greenish sepals and blue or mauve petals with large, irregular, darker spots.

Thelymitra spadicea, commonly called the browntop sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Tasmania. It has a single erect, fleshy leaf and up to four relatively small blue flowers with small darker spots and an elongated lobe on top of the anther.

Thelymitra media, commonly called the tall sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to thirty blue flowers with darker streaks but without spots. The labellum is narrower than the other petals and sepals.

<i>Thelymitra canaliculata</i> Species of orchid

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 erosa, commonly called the striped sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Tasmania. It has a single erect, fleshy dark green leaf and up to eight moderately large dark blue to purplish or pink flowers with darker veins. The column arms have irregular lobes.

<i>Thelymitra venosa</i> Species of orchid

Thelymitra venosa, commonly known as the large veined sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to New South Wales. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to six relatively large, bright-blue flowers with darker veins. The arms on the side of the column are twisted and yellow, but not toothed at the tip. Unlike most other thelymitras, the flowers do not usually close on cloudy days.

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.

<i>Thelymitra</i> × <i>dentata</i> Species of orchid

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.

<i>Adenochilus gracilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Adenochilus gracilis is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It has a long, thin underground rhizome, a single leaf on the flowering stem and a single white flower with glandular hairs on the outside. Its labellum has red to maroon bars and a central band of yellow calli but is almost obscured by the dorsal sepal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Thelymitra pulchella". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 "Thelymitra pulchella". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. Retrieved 22 June 2018.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. 1 2 "Thelymitra pulchella". New Zealand Native Orchid Group. Retrieved 22 June 2018.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  4. 1 2 Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1853). The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror. II. Flora Novae-Zelandiae. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. p. 244. Retrieved 22 June 2018.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 641.