Gumland sun orchid facts for kids

The Gumland Sun Orchid (scientific name: Thelymitra aemula) is a special type of orchid. It belongs to the Orchidaceae family. This beautiful flower is found only in New Zealand. It has one tall, dark green leaf with a reddish bottom. Its flowers can be pale purple or dark sky blue. There can be twenty or more flowers on one plant! It looks a lot like another orchid called T. ixioides. But you can tell them apart by the color of a small part on top of its anther.

What Does the Gumland Sun Orchid Look Like?

The Gumland Sun Orchid is a tuberous plant. This means it grows from a thick, underground stem, like a potato. It is also a perennial herb. This means it lives for more than two years and has soft, green stems, not woody ones.

Each plant has one straight, dark green leaf. This leaf can be long and thin, like a line, or shaped like a spear. It grows to be about 80 to 260 millimeters (3 to 10 inches) long. It is about 3.5 to 10 millimeters (0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide.

The plant produces between three and ten flowers. Sometimes, it can even have twenty or more! These flowers are pale purple to dark sky blue. Each flower is about 10 to 18 millimeters (0.4 to 0.7 inches) wide. They grow on a tall stem that can reach up to 800 millimeters (31 inches) high.

The central part of the flower is called the column. It is white near the bottom and purple or violet near the top. It also has a brown band. On top of the anther (the part that holds pollen), there is a yellow flap called a lobe. The side parts of the column have thick, brush-like white hairs. These orchids usually bloom from November to February.

How Did the Gumland Sun Orchid Get Its Name?

The Gumland Sun Orchid was officially described for the first time in 1919. This was done by a scientist named Thomas Frederic Cheeseman. He found the plant near a place called Birkdale. He wrote about it in a science book called Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute.

The scientific name for the species is aemula. This is a Latin word. It means "emulating" or "rivalling." This name might have been chosen because it looks similar to other orchids.

Where Does the Gumland Sun Orchid Live?

The Gumland Sun Orchid grows in places with not many other plants. It often forms small groups or colonies. You can find it between the Waikato region and the very tip of the North Island of New Zealand.