Thelymitra angustifolia R.Br. APNI* Description: Glabrous terrestrial herb.
Leaf linear, 15−50 cm long, 5−10 mm wide, erect, thin textured, canaliculate near base becoming flat distally, ribbed abaxially, dark green with a purplish base, sheathing at base, apex acute to acuminate.
Inflorescence 20−60 cm tall, 1.5−3 mm diam., slender, straight, green or purplish. Sterile bracts usually 3, sometimes 2 or 4, linear to linear-lanceolate, 1.5−7.5 cm long, 2.5−9 mm wide, closely sheathing, acute to acuminate, green or purplish. Fertile bracts ovate-acuminate to obovate-acuminate, 5−16 mm long, 3−6 mm wide, green or purplish, acute to acuminate, sheathing pedicels. Pedicels 1−6 mm long, stout to slender. Ovary narrow-obovoid, 2.5−11 mm long, 1−4 mm wide. Flowers 2−10, 18−27 mm diameter, purplish blue. Perianth segments 8−12(−15) mm long, 3−6 mm wide, often shortly apiculate; dorsal sepal ovate, obtuse to subacute; lateral sepals lanceolate to ovate, asymmetric, acute; petals ovate, obtuse to subacute; labellum elliptic to oblanceolate, acute, often narrower than other segments. Column erect from the end of ovary, 4.5−6 mm long, 2.2−3.2 mm wide, pale blue to pinkish; post-anther lobe hooding the anther, 3−4 mm long, 1.5−2.2 mm wide, tubular, gently curved, brownish, apex deeply bilobed, yellow, lobes with irregularly undulate margins; post-anther lobe extension 0.4−0.8 mm; auxiliary lobes absent or reduced to 2 tiny incurved spurs on distal margin of the post-anther lobe; lateral lobes converging, 1−1.5 mm long, digitiform, fleshy, porrect at base, curved gently upwards, distal half with an erect, mop-like arrangement of white trichomes, the individual trichomes 0.9−1.2 mm long. Anther inserted about mid-way along column, ovoid, 2.2–3 mm long, 1.4–2.1 mm wide, connective produced into an apical beak 0.6–0.8 mm long; pollinarium 1.5–2.5 mm long; viscidium more or less circular, c. 0.5 mm diam.; pollinia friable, mealy, white. Stigma situated at base of column, ovate-quadrate, 1.8–2.5 mm long, 1.6–2 mm wide, margins irregular.
Capsules obovoid, 8−12 mm long, 4−6 mm diameter, erect, ribbed.
Flowering: June to November, opening only on warm to hot days.
Distribution and occurrence: Widely distributed from Mossman in Queensland to just south of Sydney. Found in a variety of habitats including open forest and woodland, but most often around the margins of rain forest and wet sclerophyll forest, between sea level and 1000 masl.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, NT, CT
Other Australian states: Qld
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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