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Northern sun orchid

Thelymitra queenslandica

Northern sun orchid
Photo: Lachlan Copeland, CC BY-SA 4.0

Northern sun orchid is a tuberous terrestrial orchid native to forested slopes of northeastern Queensland, valued for its early blue to purple flowers that open on warm sunny days. It is a wild species rarely grown in gardens, and it grows from an underground tuber in a seasonal cycle.

Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Grass, Orchid
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Water moderately during the growing season and let the mix dry somewhat between waterings; keep dry while dormant.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty, humus-rich terrestrial orchid mix.
Temperature
15–28 °C; protect from frost.
How easy
Hard
Native range
E. Queensland
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Thelymitra queenslandica, commonly called northern sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Queensland. It has a single long, grass-like leaf and up to fifteen dark blue to purplish, sometimes white or pinkish flowers with white or pink tufts on top of the anther. It is readily distinguished by its northerly distribution and early flowering period.

Where it grows

Northern sun orchid mainly grows on forested slopes and occurs between Paluma and Mount Finnigan.

Other Thelymitra plants

Abrupt Sun Orchid · Wyong sun orchid · Gumland sun orchid · Bleak sun orchid · White sun orchid · Kath's sun orchid · Alpins striped sun orchid · Mountain sun orchid · Long-leaved sun orchid · Rabbit-eared sun orchid · Cleopatra's needles · Forest sun orchid

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Thelymitra queenslandica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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