Thelymitra pulchella
Striped Sun Orchid   Maikaika

PLANT: Terrestrial tuberous herb.
Robust. Up to 60cm tall when in flower. Solitary, or growing in clumps.

LEAVES: Single, long, wide, and keeled. Forms a long sheath at the base of the flower stem.

FLOWERS: Up to 6 or more flowers. Up to 2cm across, striped. Usually blue to lavender-purple. Sometimes pink or white. In some plants the column arms are flat, pointed, toothed blades that lack cilia. In others they are flat blades bearing cilia or fimbria.

FLOWERING TIME: October - January.

HABITAT: Wetland to damp areas amongst scrub.
Lowland to montane.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Not Threatened. Locally common.

NOTES: A putative amphidiploid hybrid of Thelymitra longifolia and Thelymitra cyanea, and therefore variable.