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Identification history
| Thelymitra purpurata | 30 Oct 2023 | Csteele4 |
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User's notes
Leaf chewed, unfortunately.
8 comments
MattM
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
The PlantNet key says "...dorsal sepal and lateral petals usually spotted, never purple" for T. ixioides and "...dorsal sepal and lateral petals purple, not spotted" for T. purpurata". So I guess that would mean that this is T. purpurata. To add confusion, my guides also say that T. purpurata is sometimes regarded as a form of T. ixioides, and also the distribution of T. purpurata is largely coastal being restricted to the central and northern coasts of NSW.
Csteele4
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
@MattM same as my guides (which are almost definitely the same guides). When @DerekC came out here last season, he thought there was a strong possibility these were T purpurata based on the leaves and stems combined with my photos, but unluckily he came on a day when the flowers were not in bloom. As this site sits on a ridgeline which catches the coastal easterlies of an evening we do see the very occasional coastal plant here, so who knows?
MattM
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
At the end of the day I am still just an amateur orchid enthusiast. I only have access to the same resources that you do. Best thing to do would be to have an orchid guru employed at a herbarium to come and have a look. Otherwise I would post on Facebook Australian Native Orchids or NSW Plant ID to get another opinion from Lachlan Copeland or one of the other experienced orchid fanatics.
Csteele4
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
@MattM I appreciate all you do, thank you! I think, when it comes to orchids, most of us remain quite amateur given how little we really know about these complex organisms! So thank you for all of the effort you put in on here. :)
AaronClausen
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
DerekC
wrote:
5 Nov 2023
T. purpurata is named for the purple colour of its flower if that helps and has smaller flowers (20-25mm) than T. ixioides which is said to have forms without dots (30-40mm) DLJ. These flowers judging by your thumb are as you suggest order 25mm but sizes appear smaller this drier year, so may not be conclusive a measure. DLJ has a T. ixioides spotless example that looks very similar where his photo of T. purpurata the colour is darker and bluer. Where Lachlan's book for T. purpurata again looks similar but he appears to suggest larger flowers (tepals 20mm) and suggests T. ixioides larger and more bluish. I think we can agree not too much consistency but it is either a small spotless purple T. ixioides or the similar T. purpurata. The shorter and narrower leaf may also support T. purpurata. Again just another amateur orchid enthusiast.
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 30 Oct 2023 01:38 PM Recorded on
- Csteele4 Recorded by
Additional information
- 25mm Flower dimension
- 10cm to 30cm Plant height
- True In flower
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Confirmed by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
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