Thelymitra cyanea (Striped Sun Orchid)

Swamp Sun Orchid (Thelymitra cyanea), Te Anau wetlands, New Zealand

Photograph by Jörg Hempel. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

STRIPED SUN ORCHID FACTS

distribution map showing range of Thelymitra cyanea in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Striped Sun Orchid

Other Names
Veined Sun-orchid, Swamp Sun Orchid

Description
The Striped Sun Orchid grows in colonies on damp soil in suitable habitat. The leaf grows to 25 cm long and may be moew than 5cm. The flowers grow in cluster of up to six, and each individual flower is up to 3 cm across, coloured blue or purple with darker stripes along veins. The main flowering period is in summer from December to January.

Habitat
grows in swamps or damp soil on grasslands

Distribution
found in eastern New South Wale, eastern Victoria and Tasmania. Also found in New Zealand

Growth Characteristics
Height: grows to 50 cm tall
Classification

Class:	Liliopsida
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Genus:	Thelymitra
Species:	cyanea
Common Name:	Striped Sun Orchid

Relatives in same Genus
  Thelymitra crinita
  Thelymitra ixioides
  Thelymitra macrophylla
  Thelymitra pauciflora
  Thelymitra rubra