Spotted sun orchid, dotted sun orchid

This deciduous terrestrial grows in heathland and open forest. Thelymitra flowers will only open on fine hot days and remain closed during cloudy or cool days and at night.

The leaf is to grass like to 20 cm with flower stem to 60 cm with to 9 flowers 30 mm across. The flower is blue sometimes spotted with dark blue. The column is blue topped with dark blue papillae (fingers) with arms tipped with white tufts of dense hairs. 

Thelmitra ixiodes can be identified by the blue spotting on the petals or by the column shape. Thelemitra are difficult to identify and the column shape needs to be carefully compared with orchid books to be able to identify the orchids of this genus.