''Thelymitra jacksonii'', commonly called the Jackson's sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and endemic to the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. It has a single erect, flat, leathery leaf and up to twelve dark golden brown flowers with yellow streaks and blotches. 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. ...

has broad, spreading wings with a wide fringe.

Description

''Thelymitra jacksonii'' 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 erect, flat, leathery, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaf long and wide. Up to twelve dark golden brown flowers with yellow streaks and blotches, wide are borne on a flowering stem tall. The sepals 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 is golden brown near its base, orange near the tip, long and wide. The column has broad, spreading, deeply fringed wings. 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 ...

has a tip resembling a

mudskipper Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and ...

. The flowers are scented, insect pollinated and open on hot days. Flowering occurs from December to January.

Taxonomy and naming

''Thelymitra jacksonii'' was first formally described in 2006 by Jeff Jeanes after an unpublished description by

Stephen Hopper Stephen Donald Hopper AC FLS FTSE (born 18 June 1951) is a Western Australian botanist. He graduated in Biology, specialising in conservation biology and vascular plants. Hopper has written eight books, and has over 200 publications to his n ...

and Andrew Brown. The description was published in '' Muelleria'' from a specimen collected near Walpole. 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 ...

(''jacksonii'') honours William ("Bill") Jackson, the discoverer of the species.

Distribution and habitat

Jackson's sun orchid grows with shrubs around winter-wet flats near Walpole in the Jarrah Forest and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

biogeographic regions A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions. De ...

Conservation

''Thelymitra jacksonii'' is classified as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15466985 jacksonii Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 2006