''Thelymitra mucida'', commonly called the plum sun orchid or plum orchid, is a species of

orchid 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 ...

to southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has a single erect, fleshy, linear leaf and up to six blue, purplish or plum coloured flowers with a thick, sticky secretion on 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 ...

lobe.

Description

''Thelymitra mucida'' 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 erect, channelled, fleshy, channelled, dark green, linear leaf long and wide with a purplish base. Up to six blue, purplish or plum coloured flowers wide are arranged 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 blue or pinkish, long and wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is purplish with a yellow tip, wedge shaped and covered with a thick, sticky secretion. The end of the lobe is deeply notched. The side lobes have shaggy toothbrush-like yellow or cream-coloured tufts on their ends. The flowers are self-pollinated and only open on hot days, and then only slowly. Flowering occurs from August to December.

Taxonomy and naming

''Thelymitra mucida'' was first formally described in 1879 by

Robert Fitzgerald Robert Stuart Fitzgerald (; 12 October 1910 – 16 January 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students".Mitgang, Herbert (Janua ...

from a specimen collected near

Wilson Inlet Wilson Inlet is a shallow, seasonally open estuary located on the coast of the Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern region of Western Australia. Description The inlet receives water from the two main rivers: the Denmark River a ...

and the description was published in '' The Gardeners' Chronicle''. 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 ...

(''mucida'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "slimy".

Distribution and habitat

The plum sun orchid grows in moist places such as swamp margins in heath. It occurs in southern parts of Victoria,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, (including Kangaroo Island) and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Conservation

''Thelymitra mucida'' is listed as "vulnerable" in Victoria, as "endangered" in South Australia and as "rare" under the ''

Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 The ''Threatened Species Protection Act 1995'' (TSP Act), is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of th ...

'' in Tasmania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15467199 mucida Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of Tasmania Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Western Australia Plants described in 1882