The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Thelymitra xdentata

Etymology

Thelymitra: woman's hat
xdentata: toothed

Common Name(s)

hybrid sun orchid

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Not Threatened

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - Not Threatened
2004 - Not Threatened

Authority

Thelymitra xdentata L.B.Moore

Family

Orchidaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Orchids

Synonyms

None (first described as species in 1969, shown to be a hybrid in 1998).

Distribution

Endemic. North and South Islands: sporadic in the North Island from the Waikato to Wellington; and in the South along portions of the West Coast. Uncommon.

Habitat

Coastal to montane areas (up to 800 m a.s.l.). In open shrubland, gumland vegetation, peat bogs and along ridge lines in mature forest. Always found in the vicinity of T. longifolia J.R.Forst. et G.Forst. and T. pulchella Hook.f. - the parents of this sporadically occurring hybrid.

Features

Robust terrestrial, tuberous, glabrous, spring to summer-green perennial herb, solitary or growing in small colonies of 4-10 plants arising through vegetative extension. Plants at flower up to 600 mm tall. Stem robust, fleshy, erect 2.5-4.8 mm diameter. Leaf firmly fleshy to subcoriaceous, rather thick, erect to suberect, 80-200 x 10-20 mm, shallowly channelled. Inflorescence a (1-)6-flowered raceme. Flower 10-15 mm diameter, segments usually blue, lavender or pink, petals, labellum and dorsal sepals prominently striped with dark blue. Sepals and petals subsimilar, broad, slightly obovate. Labellum oblong-obovate. Column erect 6.5-8.0 mm tall, blue, lavender or pink; post-anther lobe taller than anther, slightly or prominently cucullate, and usually tuberculate towards apex, basal portion to mid section dark red grading to yellow toward apex; column-arms thickened about nerve, flanged about the base with delicate pinkish lobes, teeth or fimbriae, that mostly extend down the front margin of the column-wing; the arms bent inwards such that the cilia meet just above anther apex; cilia copious, in globose clusters, initially pale yellow maturing brown with age.

Similar Taxa

Most like Thelymitra pulchella Hook.f. one of its parents, from which it differs by the inconspicuous rather than obvious, column-arm teeth that extend more or less down the front margin of the column-arm wing rather than elongate into branched fimbriae; and by the consistent presence of globose masses of yellow cilia. In T. pulchella the column arms may or may not be ciliate, and the yellow cilia are always sparse. Unlike T. pulchella whose post-anther lobe rarely extended above the anther, T. xdentata has a prominent, hooded post-anther lobe that is consistently taller than the anther. Thelymitra xdentata is distinguished from other indigenous Thelymitra with striped flowers, by its failure to produce capsules following flowering because it is completely sterile.

Flowering

November - January

Flower Colours

Blue,Red / Pink

Fruiting

Seed not produced (sterile hybrid)

Propagation Technique

Very easily grown in a sunny, well drained site. It can only be grown by vegetative means as it is sterile. Although easily cultivated, like all orchids it should not be removed from the wild.

Threats

Not Threatened. A sterile hybrid which is listed here only because in the New Zealand Flora Series (Flora Vol. 2, Moore & Edgar 1970) it was regarded as a species. Further it is likely to be found wherever its parent species are sympatric, and so cause confusion unless a description is provided.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 31 Jul 2014