Thelymitra, Orchid
Thelymitra is a genus of terrestrial tuberous plants in the family Orchidaceae, comprising about 80 species. It is distributed throughout Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Timor, Java and the Philippines. Thelymitra is also known as Sun Orchid because the flowers of most species only open fully on warm and sunny day. The genus name is derived from Greek words thely (meaning woman) and mitra ( meaning mitre hat), in referring to the elaborate shape of the staminodal structure at the top of the column. Species are identified by their color and their column. Thelymitra is only above ground during spring and early summer. A single leaf grows from two underground tubers. The leaf is elongated or linear-lanceolate and glabrous. The bluish-green flowering stem usually carries 4-20 flowers that open all at once in bright sunlight. The flower's diameter vary from 1-6 cm. The flowers will close at night and during cold or cloudy weather. The lip of sun orchid usually has the same shape, size, color and color pattern as the sepals and petals. Thelymitra comes in a range of striking colors, from white, pink, yellow, maroon, magenta, red, purple, deep blue. Most flowers are single color or have spots. Some species are multi-colored. About 75% of sun orchids come in deep blue color, a rare color for orchid.  Thelymitra ixioides Author: Poyt448 (public domain) | ||
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