Thelymitra purpurata, commonly called the wallum sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has up to ten purplish flowers with long, finger-like glands on the top of the column and flowers earlier in the season than most other thelymitras.
Thelymitra purpurata is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single ribbed, linear to lance-shaped leaf NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. Between two and ten bluish purple flowers without spots, NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide are borne on a flowering stem NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 tall. The sepals and petals are NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 long and NaNsigfig=1NaNsigfig=1 wide. The column is bluish to pinkish, NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 long and NaNsigfig=2NaNsigfig=2 wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is short, yellow with a dark blue band and with many finger-like calli. The side lobes have dense, mop-like tufts of white hairs. The flowers are insect-pollinated, open on sunny days and often have the petals and sepals turned backwards. Flowering occurs from July to September.[1] [2]
Thelymitra purpurata was first formally described in 1945 by Herman Rupp from a specimen collected in Brunswick Heads by Fred Fordham and the description was published in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales.[3] [4] [5] The specific epithet (purpurata) is a Latin word meaning "purple".[6]
The wallum sun orchid is common in heath in coastal Queensland south of Fraser Island to Myall Lakes in New South Wales.