Thelymitra epipactoides
Thelymitra epipactoides, commonly known as metallic sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has a single relatively large, leathery leaf and up to twenty large flowers that range in colour from pink to reddish but have a distinctive arrangement of lobes above the anther.
Description
Thelymitra epipactoides is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped, dark green leaf long and wide with a reddish base. Between five and twenty flowers wide are arranged on a flowering stem tall. The flowers range in colour from pink to greenish, greyish or pale blue and to orange, reddish or bronze, often with a coppery sheen. The sepals and petals are long and wide. The column is similar in colour to the petals but often paler, long and wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is reddish brown with a yellow tip and more or less flat and strap-like. There are two extra yellow-tipped lobes either side of the central lobe and which curve towards each other, often interlocking. The side lobes have dense, toothbrush-like tufts of white hairs.Flowering occurs from September to November. The flowers are insect pollinated and open on warm days.