Thelymitra sparsa

Thelymitra sparsa, commonly called the wispy sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Tasmania. It has a single erect, fleshy leaf and up to six relatively small blue flowers with a few small darker spots. The flowers are self-pollinated and open only slowly on hot days. The species is restricted to a few restricted montane sites in south-eastern Tasmania.

Description
Thelymitra sparsa is a tuberous, perennial herb with a single erect, fleshy, channelled, linear to lance-shaped leaf 60-250 mm long and 2-5 mm wide. Up to six blue flowers with a few small darker spots, 25-30 mm wide are arranged on a flowering stem 100-250 mm tall. The sepals and petals are 10-15 mm long and 4-6 mm wide. The column is bluish, 4.5-6 mm long and about 2.5 mm wide. The lobe on the top of the anther is dark blue and brown with a yellow tip and a few short finger-like glands on the back. The side lobes have a few sparse white hairs on their ends. Flowering occurs in December and January but the flowers are self-pollinated and only open on hot days, and then only slowly.

Taxonomy and naming
Thelymitra sparsa was first formally described in 1999 by David Jones from a specimen collected on the plains near Snug and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research. The specific epithet (sparsa) is a Latin word meaning “strewn", "sprinkled", "flecked" or "spotted", referring to the sparse hairs on the anther's lateral lobes.

Distribution and habitat
The wispy sun orchid is restricted to a few montane sites on the Snug Plains and Wellington Range near Hobart where it grows in low scrub with grasses and sedges.