Thelymitra pauciflora R.Br.

Slender sun orchid (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Thelymitra

Characteristics

Plant at fl. c. 5–40 cm. tall. Lf c. 10–15 mm. wide, channelled, fleshy, keeled, us. without longitudinal ribs. Infl. us. slender, capsules often maturing without per. having opened; fls to c. 10, us. fewer. Per. c. 8–12 mm. long, us. lilac-pink, without stripes or spots. Sepals, petals and labellum similar, elliptic, subacute. Column-arms terete, us. ± erect; cilia white, rather sparse and straight, mostly projecting above post-anther lobe; post-anther lobe overtopping anther, dark above middle and us. yellow on margin which is so turned in as to appear deeply cleft or bifid, the 2 halves rounded and meeting along mid line above anther.
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Leaf 100–300 × 3–6 mm, fleshy. Light green or dark green, base purplish. Flower stem 150–500 × 1–1.5 mm, green to purplish, 1–5-flowered. Sterile bracts usually 2. Flowers 15–20 mm across, usually pale blue, occasionally pink or white. Sepals and petals 6–10 × 3–5 mm, concave. Column 4–5 × 2–2.5 mm, white, pale blue or pale pink; post-anther lobe 1.8–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm, hooding column, brown or reddish brown with yellow apex, gently curved, tubular, not inflated, apex entire or notched; column arms converging, 0.5–1 mm long, bent up near middle; hair-tufts mop-like, white, hairs 0.5–1 mm long.
An orchid. It grows 40-50 cm tall. It has a single furrowed leaf. This sheaths the base of the stem. The flower stems are slender and 20 cm long. The flowers are in a spike. The flowers are pink or blue and have 5 petals. The tubers are 3 cm long and 1 cm wide.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
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Sexuality hermaphrodite
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Mature height (meter) 0.23 - 0.45
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Environment

Widespread and common; found growing in many habitats particularly open forest, woodland, heathy forest, heathland and grassland in drier clay, clay loam or sandy loam; also colonises road embankments, gravel scapes and other disturbed sites.
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It is a subtropical plant. It grows in small colonies on the edge of the rainforest.
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Hardiness (USDA) 7-11

Usage

The tuber is edible but this would kill the plant. They contain calcium oxalate so should be cooked and possibly the cooking water changed.
Uses -
Edible roots tubers
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Cultivation

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Images

Thelymitra pauciflora unspecified picture

Distribution

Thelymitra pauciflora world distribution map, present in Australia and New Zealand

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:660076-1
WFO ID wfo-0000323043
COL ID 7BVZ8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Thelymitra pauciflora