Historical

Thelymitra was described and recognisably figured by the Formers from material collected by them in the South Island of New Zealand during Cook's second voyage (Characteres generum plantarum, etc., 1776, 97–8, t49). This book is the first taxonomic account ever to be published of New Zealand plants. The genotype is Th. longifolia. This species had also been collected by Banks at Tologa Bay during Cook's first voyage, in 1769, and had been described by Solander as Serapias regularis but never published, and illustrated in the banksian plates.