Appearance
''Thelymitra rubra'' is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single thin, channelled, green or purplish thread-like to linear leaf 80–200 mm long and 3–5 mm wide. There are up to five salmon pink flowers 20–25 mm wide and are borne on a thin, wiry flowering stem 200–400 mm tall. The flowers are sometimes other shades of pink, rarely cream-coloured or very pale pink. The sepals and petals are 8–12 mm long and 4–5 mm wide. The column is cream-coloured to pinkish with a black, red or orange band near the top and is 4–5 mm long and about 2.5 mm wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is short and brownish with a toothed tip. The side arms on the column are broad and yellow with finger-like edges. The flowers open on sunny days but are sometimes self-pollinating. Flowering occurs from September to November.Naming
''Thelymitra rubra'' was first formally described in 1882 by Robert Fitzgerald and the description was published in ''The Gardeners' Chronicle''. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "red".Distribution
The salmon sun orchid grows in forest, heath and coastal scrub. It occurs in southern New South Wales, south-eastern South Australia and in Tasmania but is widespread and common in all but the north-west of Victoria. Tasmanian specimens usually have a few hair-like strands on the sides of the column.References:
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