Thelymitra improcera, commonly called the coastal sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has a single erect, fleshy leaf and up to eight relatively small pale to bright blue flowers on a short flowering stem. The lobe on top of the anther is unusually short and lobed.
Thelymitra sparsa is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single erect, fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped leaf NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. Up to eight pale to bright blue flowers NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide are arranged on a flowering stem NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 tall. The sepals and petals are NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide, with the labellum (the lowest petal) narrower. The column is white or bluish with a yellow tip, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long and about 2.5sigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is short with a yellow tip and small glands on the back. The side lobes have a long, mop-like tufts of white hairs. Flowering occurs from October to December but the flowers are self-pollinated and open only slowly on hot days.[1] [2] [3]
Thelymitra improcera was first formally described in 1999 by David Jones from a specimen collected on King Island, and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.[4] The specific epithet (improcera) is a Latin word meaning “short" or "undersized",[5] referring to this species' flower size compared to T. media.
The coastal sun orchid mostly grows in low-lying, moist heath and is found on King Island and in the far south-east of Victoria.