Thelymitra matthewsii
Spiral Sun Orchid

PLANT: Terrestrial tuberous herb.
10 to 15cm in height when in flower.

LEAVES: Single leaf. 3 - 6cm long. Dark green and stiff. Expanded at the base. Spirals around the stem.

FLOWERS: Usually only one flower, very rarely two. 1 - 1.5cm across. Purple with dark veins. Column is mauve and has no post-anther lobe on the top as in most other Thelymitra species. Column arms are bulbous, bright yellow, and reach over the top of the yellow anther.

FLOWERING TIME: August - September.

HABITAT: Bare clay or sandy open areas.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Threatened - Nationally Critical.

NOTES: Found in the Far North only. An Australian species... where it is also rare.  Was thought extinct in NZ until rediscovered again in the 1980's.