''Thelymitra colensoi'', commonly called Colenso's sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to seven pale blue or mauve to pink flowers. It is similar to '' T. pauciflora'' but is smaller and less robust than that species.

Description

''Thelymitra colensoi'' is a

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

ous,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with a single fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped leaf long and wide. Up to seven pale pale blue or mauve to pink flowers wide are borne on a flowering stem tall. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are long and wide. The

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

is pale blue to mauve about long and wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is dark brown to reddish brown with a bright yellow tip. The side lobes bend sharply upwards and have sparse, brush-like white hairs. Flowering occurs from July to December but the flowers are usually self pollinating and only open in very hot, still weather.

Taxonomy and naming

''Thelymitra colensoi'' was first formally described in 1864 by Joseph Dalton Hooker from a specimen collected by

William Colenso William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an accou ...

and the description was published in '' Handbook of the New Zealand Flora''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''colensoi'') honours the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimen.

Distribution and habitat

Colenso's sun orchid grows in shrubland, forest and in pine plantations. It frequently grows with the larger flowered, more robust ''T. pauciflora'' and sometimes grows in gardens to which pine bark has been added. It is found on the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, Stewart, and

Three Kings Islands 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15468333 colensoi Endemic orchids of New Zealand Orchids of New Zealand Plants described in 1864 Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker