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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Orchidaceae
Thelymitra carnea

Citation: R. Br., Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 314 (1810) var. carnea.

Synonymy: Thelymitra imberbis

Common name: Small pink sun-orchid, pink sun-orchid.

Description:
A slender species, stem often reddish, more or less flexuose, 12-25 cm high; stem bracts 2 or 3, closely sheathing, the lower one longest; leaf narrow-linear, 10-15 cm long.

Inflorescence 1-4- rarely to 6-flowered; flowers from cream to reddish, 6-8 mm diam., expanding only during hot humid weather; ovary 5-10 mm long; sepals and petals ovate-elliptic, more or less obtuse; sepals c. 5 mm long, petals slightly smaller and narrower; column c. 4 mm long; pink to green with a yellow 3-lobed apex; post-anther lobe short, imperfectly hooded, slightly arched; lateral lobes more than twice as long as broad, more or less denticulate, smooth on the outside, about as high as the anther; anther prominent, broad and obtuse, green; only its base concealed behind the stigma.

Published illustration: Woolcock (1984) Australian terrestrial orchids, p. 144.

Distribution:  Occurs singly or in small groups in soil which is boggy in winter but dries hard in summer, usually in open clearings in light scrubland. Rare in this State and usually found with T. flexuosa and T. rubra.

S.Aust.: EP, SL, SE.   Qld; N.S.W.; Vic.; Tas.   New Zealand.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: Oct. — Nov.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: Very similar to the larger more common T. rubra. Self-pollinated.

Author: Not yet available


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