Taxonomy
Family: Orchidaceae
Synonymous with Listera australis Lindl.
Habitat
Open or shaded bogs, wet woods.
Associates
Distribution
Mainly on the coastal plain from NJ to FL and eastern TX, irregularly in KY, TN, NY, VT, eastern Ontario, southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial to 30 cm; leaves ovate, 1-3.5 cm, shorter than the peduncle, rounded at the base, abruptly apiculate; axis and pedicels glandular; ovaries glabrous; bracts 1 mm; flowers up to 25, greenish-purple to dull red, the sepals and lateral petals ovate-oblong, reflexed, 2 mm; lip 6-10 mm, narrowly oblong, cleft half its length into 2 slender lobes, and with a pair of narrow, retrorse auricles at the base; column under 1 mm.
Notes
Flowers late May to July
Wetland indicator: FACW
Typically found in shaded habitats but more often in open bogs in the northern part of its range.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A.
Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and
Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Michael Hough © 2018 |