Common name: Merran's Sun-orchid, Sun Orchid
Thelymitra merraniae Nicholls APNI* Synonyms: Thelymitra merranae Nicholls APNI*
Description: Terrestrial herb.
Leaf linear, to 12 cm long and 7 mm wide, dark green.
Inflorescence to 20 cm high, 1–4(-6)-flowered, flowers purple-blue, spotted, 12–17 mm diameter. Column to 4 mm long, purplish. Midlobe crest with dense calli-papillae; accessory lobes fusing with the crest to form a discontinuous ridge in which the 2, yellow, obliquely flaring, scalloped wings grade into a low, central notch-gap. Lateral arms erect, yellow, with hair tufts white.
Flowering: October–November
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in wet heath, sometimes in peaty soils; south from Nowra district.
NSW subdivisions: CC, SC
Other Australian states: Vic. S.A.
The circumscription of Thelymitra x merraniae adopted in Volume 4 of The Flora of New South Wales differed from that of the original description by Nicholls (1929). As it was described, Thelymitra x merraniae has spotted flowers with the column not hooded, the midlobe instead being tripartite and flaring outward at the summit. Thelymitra x merrianae may represent a cross between T. juncifolia and T. mucida, or perhaps T. holmesii, but the parentage remains to be confirmed.
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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