Aus Trails

← All species

Graceful Sun-Orchid

Graceful Sun-Orchid

Thelymitra simulata

Family Orchidaceae

Endangered — ACT: Restricted Trade Species, VIC: Endangered

About

Thelymitra simulata, commonly called collared sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single fleshy, channelled leaf and up to six blue flowers with small darker spots. It grows in higher altitudes places part and the flowers have a purple lobe with a yellow tip on top of the anther.

How to spot it

Thelymitra simulata is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped leaf 100–150 mm (4–6 in) long and 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide with a reddish base. Up to six blue flowers with darker spots, 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) wide are arranged on a flowering stem 200–560 mm (8–20 in) tall. The sepals and petals are 10–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long and 7–8 mm (0.28–0.31 in) wide. The column is bluish white, 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. The lobe on the t

Documented on these trails

Found in

Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Thelymitra simulata

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by Ciaran Ernst-Russell