Spiranthes lacera var. lacera - (image 1 of 4)
Taxonomy
Family: Orchidaceae
Habitat
Dry, often sandy fields, open woods and thickets, sometimes in thin soil overlying edges.
Associates
Distribution
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Saskatchewan, south to FL and TX. The ranges of the two varieties overlap to some degree.
Morphology
Slender perennial to 40 cm. Basal leaves ovate-elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, petiolate, spreading to form a rosette, present during anthesis in var. lacera but usually absent at that time in var. gracilis, withering shortly after; labellum centrally green or white with green veins, papillate; lateral sepals held perpendicular to the stem, not oblique; flowers inodorous.
Notes
Flowers mid-June to early August for var. lacera and August to September for var. gracilis
Wetland indicator: FAC
These photos are of var. lacera which has a more northern range that reaches its southern limit around southern VA, TN, and MO. Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis flowers later in the year and has flowers more densely arranged on the spike, an inflorescence that is more or less glabrous (vs. sparsely pubescent), and basal leaves that are usually absent at anthesis; it reaches its northern limit around southern NH, central VT, southern WI, and NE.
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
Pace, M.C. and Cameron, K.M. The systematics of the Spiranthes cernua species complex (Orchidaceae): Untangling the Gordian Knot. Systematic Botany, 42(4):1-30.
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Michael Hough © 2017 |