''Thelymitra flexuosa'', known as the twisted sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to southern Australia. It has a single thin, wiry leaf and up to four cream-coloured to canary yellow flowers with four rows of short hairs on the back of 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. ...

. It is a common and widespread species, superficially similar to '' T. antennifera''.

Description

''Thelymitra flexuosa'' is a tuberous, perennial

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 wiry, linear leaf long and wide. Up to four cream-coloured to canary yellow wide borne on a flowering stem tall. The sepals and petals are long and about wide. The labellum (the lowest petal) is shorter and narrower than the other petals and sepals. The column is white to cream-coloured, long and about wide with four lines of short hairs on its back. The lobe on the top of the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

is short with a few brown glands on its back. The side lobes are bright yellow and covered with short hairs. The flowers are short-lived,

self-pollinating Self-pollination is a form of pollination in which pollen from the same plant arrives at the stigma of a flower (in flowering plants) or at the ovule (in gymnosperms). There are two types of self-pollination: in autogamy, pollen is transferred to ...

and open only slowly on hot, humid days. Flowering occurs from September to November.

Taxonomy and naming

''Thelymitra flexuosa'' was first formally described in 1839 by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...

and the description was published in ''Novarum Stirpium Decades''. 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 ...

(''flexuosa'') is a Latin word meaning "full of bends", "tortuous", "crooked" or "winding", referring to the twisted or "zig-zagged" flowering stem.

Distribution and habitat

The twisted sun orchid is widespread and common throughout its range. It grows with sedges and low shrubs in moist places such as the edge of swamps. It occurs in southern Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. In Western Australia it is found between Kalbarri and

Israelite Bay Israelite Bay is a bay and locality on the south coast of Western Australia. Situated in the Shire of Esperance local government area, it lies east of Esperance and the Cape Arid National Park, within the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and the Grea ...

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q9087259 flexuosa Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of Tasmania Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 1840