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Elythranthera emarginata
Dendrobium nindii
Caleana major
Thelymitra variegata
C a l e a n a: As of May 2014, only one species is recognised:
Caleana major, native to South Australia. Two other species (
C. minor and
C. nigrita) formerly included in this genus are now regarded as members of a different genus,
Paracaleana.
Species in this genus is called "duck orchid" because of the form of the labellum. It is pollinated by the male sawfly in similar way to the pollination of
Drakaea (hammer orchid) by the thynnid wasp (Thynnidae).
T h e l y m i t r a: Sun orchids exhibit a particular characteristic: their lip shows, except in a few species such as
T. variegata, almost the same shape, colour, colour pattern or size as the other petals and sepals, gives a symmetrical shape to the perianth. Furthermore, the lip lacks ornament- ation. In other orchid genera, the lip has a distinctive shape and colour. The particular shape and color of the sun orchids mimics the flowers of lily family and the family Goodeni- aceae, aiming by deceit for the same insect pollinators.
The Slender Sun Orchid (
T. pauciflora) only opens for a short time (or not at all) and is self-pollinating. The deep blue colour, found in about 75% of the sun orchids, is of a rare kind, found only in 5 other orchid genera.
