 In 1803, Robert Brown collected "T. venosa" from Port Jackson and was the first to formally describe it in 1810.The name ""Thelymitra"" is derived from the Ancient Greek words "thelys" meaning "belonging to women" and "mitra" meaning "headdress" or "turban" referring to the hooded column.There are about 100 species distributed in higher rainfall areas of Australia, 15 in New Zealand, 11 of which are endemic, one in New Caledonia, one in East Timor and one in Java and the Philippines.