New Zealand Native Orchids

New Zealand Native Orchid Group
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Thelymitra aemula

Sun Orchid

Lake Ohia 24 October 2011. Photo: Bill Campbell
Photo: Bill Campbell
Recorded distribution
Recorded distribution

Plant

Slender to robust plant, leaf thick, ridged.

Flowers

3-20, petals plain, deep blue. Column palest violet with a narrow violet band underlying the bright yellow top; column top scarcely domed over, with toothed margins and forward pointing side lobes. Column arms long, curved upwards, tipped with thin white cilia.

Flowering

October - December.

Habitat

Damp or dry ground - open kauri and gumland scrub in the Northland south to Nelson.

Conservation

Locally common.

Notes

Like T. tholiformis but column top wide open and back sloping.

Key features

Column top scarcely domed over, deeply cleft with long column arms.

Photos

Lake Ohia 24 October 2011. Photo: Bill Campbell
Dangen Road, Peria 3 November 2007. Photo: Bill Campbell
Whatuwhiwhi 22 October 2012. Photo: Bill Campbell
Stratford Drive, Cable Bay 26 October 2011. Photo: Bill Campbell
Rangikapiti Reserve, Mangonui 22 November 2015. Photo: Bill Campbell
“Alba” form, Spirits Bay Road, Te Paki 19 October 2013. Photo: Bill Campbell
Kaimaumau Wetland 11 October 2022. Photo: Bill Campbell
Tahanga Road, Kaingaroa 11 October 2015. Photo: Bill Campbell
Waikumete - Auckland. Photo: Allan Ducker
Waikumete - Auckland. Photo: Allan Ducker
Photo: Eric Scanlen
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Sun orchids (Thelymitra)
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