Thelymitra pauciflora

Slender Sun Orchid at Tennent, ACT

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Identification history

	Thelymitra pauciflora	15 Jan 2023	MattM
	Thelymitra arenaria	23 Dec 2022	Tapirlord

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User's notes

On their last flower, maybe T.pauciflora

3 comments

Tapirlord wrote:

10 Feb 2023

Hi @MattM & @DerekC I sought advice on these photos which has been in the works for sometime but has finally come through. Comments go as follows.

Pack-man shaped post anther lobe from top, short squat column that looks like a russian doll from the front, short Lateral arms/trichomes that look like pom poms, 3 strong lines in the lateral sepals and a single strong line in the petals. Also wide fleshy leaf ranging from u-shaped to flat wedge. Annoyingly immature plants produce small pauciflora sized flowers!

I'm told that these factor suggest T.arenaria as per my original suggestion.

MattM wrote:

11 Feb 2023

I’m not sure how to approach this then. The key splits arenaria and pauciflora based on trichomes glabrous or not at the base, which admittedly isn’t apparent in these images and requires a side on view. I can’t find anything in my guides that mention the lines on the tepals. I would say that the leaf being ribbed is the strongest factor in making this arenaria.

Unfortunately I am not familiar enough with Thelymitra to make a more confident assessment.

Tapirlord wrote:

12 Feb 2023

Thanks Matt I appreciate you advice as always, I'm not sure what to make of the complex either so will continue to pursue this.

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Location information

Maps Namadgi National Park
Places Tennent, ACT

Sighting information

8 Abundance
Tapirlord Recorded by
Collections
Plants Orchids Tapirlord Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr

Additional information

Less than 10cm Plant height
True In flower

Species information

Thelymitra pauciflora Scientific name
Slender Sun Orchid Common name
Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Machine learning
In flower
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania