''Thelymitra rubra'', commonly called the salmon sun orchid or pink sun orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to southeastern

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 thin, grass-like leaf and up to five salmon pink flowers with broad, toothed arms on the sides 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 similar to '' T. carnea'' but the flowers are larger and the column arms are a different shape.

Description

''Thelymitra rubra'' 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 thin, channelled, green or purplish thread-like to linear leaf long and wide. There are up to five salmon pink flowers wide and are borne on a thin, wiry flowering stem tall. The flowers are sometimes other shades of pink, rarely cream-coloured or very pale pink. The sepals and petals are long and wide. The

is cream-coloured to pinkish with a black, red or orange band near the top and is long and about wide. 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 and brownish with a toothed tip. The side arms on the column are broad and yellow with finger-like edges. The flowers open on sunny days but are sometimes

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 ...

. Flowering occurs from September to November. This species of sun orchid is similar to ''T. carnea'' but can be distinguished from that species by its larger flowers, salmon pink (rather than bright pink) colouration, and fringed column arms.

Taxonomy and naming

''Thelymitra rubra'' was first formally described in 1882 by Robert Fitzgerald 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 ...

(''rubra'') is a Latin word meaning "red".

Distribution and habitat

The salmon sun orchid grows in forest, heath and coastal scrub. It occurs in southern New South Wales, south-eastern South Australia and in Tasmania but is most widespread and common in all but the north-west of Victoria. Tasmanian specimens usually have a few hair-like strands on the sides of the column.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6615724 rubra Endemic orchids of Australia Orchids of New South Wales Orchids of South Australia Orchids of Victoria (state) Orchids of Tasmania Plants described in 1882 Taxa named by William Vincent Fitzgerald