Thelymitra adorata Jeanes APNI* Description: Glabrous terrestrial herb.
Leaf linear to linear-lanceolate, 10–40 cm long, 5–20 mm wide, erect, canaliculate, fleshy, ribbed abaxially, green with a purplish base, sheathing at base, apex acute.
Inflorescence 20–60 cm tall. Scape 2–5 mm diameter, slender to stout, green or purplish. Sterile bracts 2–4, linear to lanceolate, 2–13 cm long, 5–15 mm wide, closely sheathing, green and purplish, acute, lower bracts leaf-like. Fertile bracts ovate to obovate, apex acuminate, 6–22 mm long by 3–7 mm wide, closely sheathing the pedicel, green or purplish. Pedicels 1–14 mm long, slender. Ovary cylindric to narrowly obovoid, 3–12 mm long and 2–3.5 mm diameter. Flowers 2–13, 15–27 mm across, perianth segments 8–13 mm long by 4–7 mm wide, often shortly apiculate, deep blue; dorsal sepal ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute; lateral sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, often slighlty asymmetric, acute; petals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute; labellum ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute, often narrower than other segments. Column erect from the end of ovary, 5.5–6.5 long, 2.5–3.5 mm wide, white to pale blue; post-anther lobe not hooding the anther, 2.5–3.5 mm long by 1.5–2.2 mm wide, post-anther lobe extension 1–1.5 mm long, more or less semi-cylindric, gently curved, dark brownish, apex yellow, distal margin irregularly toothed or incised, incurved, also with a narrow-central notch or split 0.5–1 mm deep; auxillary lobes absent; lateral lobes converging; 1.5–2 mm long, digitiform, porrect or obliquely erect, curved gently, each with a terminal mop-like tuft of white hairs, the individual hairs1–1.5 mm long. Anther inserted about mid-way along column, base partly obscured behind stigma, ovoid 2–3 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, connective produced into a beak 0.4–0.6 mm long; pollinia 1.5–2.5 mm long, viscidium circular to reniform, c. 0.6 mm diameter, pollen white, friable. Stigma situated at base of column, ovate-quadrate, 2–2.5 mm long, 2–2.5 mm wide.
Capsules obovoid, 10–20 mm long, 5–7 mm diameter, erect, ribbed.
Flowering: September and October, opening freely in warm weather.
Distribution and occurrence: Confined to the Central Coast in the vicinity of Gosford, between 10 and 40 masl. Grows in grassy woodlands dominated by Corymbia maculata, with Themeda triandra.
NSW subdivisions: CC
Threatened species: NSW BCA: Critically Endangered; Commonwealth EPBC: Critically Endangered
Text by M.A.M. Renner.
Taxon concept: Jeanes JA (2013) Resolution of the Thelymitra aristata (Orchidaceae) complex of south-eastern Australia. Muelleria 29(2): 110-129
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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