Wallum sun orchid facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wallum sun orchid
Thelymitra purpurata at Hat Head
Scientific classification
Genus:	Thelymitra
Species:	purpurata

The Wallum sun orchid (Thelymitra purpurata) is a special type of orchid that only grows in eastern Australia. It's known for its beautiful purplish flowers, which can number up to ten on a single plant. These orchids have unique, finger-like parts on their "column" (a central part of the flower). They also bloom earlier in the year compared to many other sun orchids.

What Does the Wallum Sun Orchid Look Like?

The Wallum sun orchid is a plant that grows from a tuber (a swollen underground stem, like a potato). It's a perennial herb, meaning it lives for more than two years and has soft, green stems rather than woody ones.

Each plant has one long, thin leaf. This leaf is shaped like a line or a spear, and it's about 100 to 250 millimetres (4 to 10 inches) long and 2 to 4 millimetres (0.08 to 0.16 inches) wide.

The plant produces a flowering stem that stands 150 to 350 millimetres (6 to 14 inches) tall. On this stem, you'll find between two and ten bluish-purple flowers. These flowers don't have spots and are about 20 to 25 millimetres (0.8 to 1 inch) wide.

The sepals (leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud) and petals (the colourful parts of the flower) are 12 to 17 millimetres (0.5 to 0.7 inches) long and 5 to 8 millimetres (0.2 to 0.3 inches) wide. The "column" is a central part of the orchid flower, and on this orchid, it's bluish to pinkish. It measures about 4.5 to 5.5 millimetres (0.18 to 0.22 inches) long and 2.5 to 3 millimetres (0.10 to 0.12 inches) wide.

The top part of the anther (the part that holds pollen) is short and yellow with a dark blue band. It has many finger-like parts called calli. The side parts of the column have thick, mop-like tufts of white hairs.

These flowers are pollinated by insects. They open up on sunny days, and often their petals and sepals bend backwards. You can usually see them flowering from July to September.

How Did the Wallum Sun Orchid Get Its Name?

The Wallum sun orchid was officially described for the first time in 1945. This was done by a person named Herman Rupp. He studied a plant sample found in Brunswick Heads by Fred Fordham.

The description was then published in a scientific paper called Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. The second part of its scientific name, purpurata, comes from a Latin word. It simply means "purple," which makes sense because of the flower's colour!

Where Does the Wallum Sun Orchid Grow?

The Wallum sun orchid is quite common in the "heath" areas along the coast. Heath is a type of natural land covered with small shrubs and plants.

You can find this orchid in coastal Queensland, south of Fraser Island. It also grows down to the Myall Lakes area in New South Wales.