Common Sun Orchid

Thelymitra longifolia

This is the commonest sun orchid in the country, at least until the variable complex currently under one name gets split into several species. It is part of a sparse orchid flora of four species, all terrestrial, on Puangiangi and is quite plentiful there in open country and on disturbed ground trackside.

Botanists Chris Horne and Barbara Mitcalfe listed only the one Thelymitra, of a few that might have been expected there, and it is a cheerful sight on a sunny day in Spring and Summer.

(Part of an ongoing effort to photograph all the vascular plants on the island. Each species will get a page when I get enough reasonable photos.)