Platanthera integrilabia |
Platanthera limosa |
|
---|---|---|
monkeyface, white fringeless orchid |
Thurber's bog orchid |
|
Habit | Plants 50–80 cm. | Plants 30–165 cm. |
Leaves | 2(–3), spreading to ascending, on basal portion of stem, abruptly reduced to bracts distally; blade lanceolate to elliptic, 12–23 × 1–3.2 cm. |
few to several, spreading-ascending on base of stem, gradually reduced to bracts upwards; blade lanceolate, 9–28 × 1.2–3.5 cm. |
Spikes | rather lax. |
dense to lax. |
Flowers | resupinate, showy, white; lateral sepals reflexed; petals oblong, margins entire; lip porrect, spatulate to lance-spatulate, without basal thickening, 10–15 × 2.5–4 mm, margins slightly lacerate to subentire; spur slenderly cylindric, scarcely clavate, 35–60 mm; rostellum lobes directed forward, spreading, angular; rostellum lobes slenderly curving forward, slightly spreading, angular-elongate, long; pollinaria with stalks curved forward; pollinia remaining enclosed in anther sacs; viscidia orbiculate; ovary slender, ca.16–22 mm. |
resupinate, inconspicuous, green; lateral sepals reflexed to spreading; petals lanceolate-, ovate-oblong-, or ovate-falcate, margins entire; lip descending to reflexed, linear-oblong, linear-elliptic, or rhombic-ovate, usually with inconspicuous to scarcely discernable (possibly sometimes absent) median basal thickening, 2.5–8.5 × less than 1–3.5 mm, margins entire; spur filiform, tapering toward apex, very rarely filiform-conic from slightly stout base, 8–25 mm; rostellum lobes mostly parallel, closely spaced, directed downward, very small, rounded, obscure; pollinaria straight; pollinia remaining enclosed in anther sacs; viscidia evidently elliptic-oblong; ovary rather slender to stout, mostly 4.5–11 mm. |
Platanthera integrilabia |
Platanthera limosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Jun–)Jul–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Wet wooded flats, seeping slopes, marshes, sphagnum bogs | Open to lightly forested springy marshes, seeps, stream banks |
Elevation | mostly 100–700 m (mostly 300–2300 ft) | 1800–2500 m (– 4000 m, Central America) (5900–8200 ft (– 13100 ft, Central America)) |
Distribution |
AL; GA; KY; MS; NC; SC; TN
|
AZ; NM; Mexico; Central America (to Guatemala) |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. The description of Platanthera integrilabia is based on a limited sample and is likely too restrictive. Flowers of this species are nocturnally sweet-scented. The vegetative habit is distinctive, with leaves restricted to the base of the stem and a relatively few-flowered inflorescence borne atop a tall bracted scape. In addition to the normal tuberoid, roots often enlarge distally to form bud-bearing tuberoids at a marked distance from the parent stem, giving rise to diffuse clonal colonies. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Platanthera limosa is traditionally distinguished from other slender-spurred plants and from P. sparsiflora by the presence on the lip of a median thickening that culminates in a small basal process. Although diagnostic when present, this feature is often obscure, especially in live material, and seems to be lacking in some plants. Platanthera limosa is most consistently separated from other green-flowered species by the combination of very small, narrow column and slender spur much longer than the lip. These features are in contrast to the very large, broad columns of P. sparsiflora and P. zothecina and much shorter spurs of the P. hyperborea complex. The lips of most plants are elliptic to elliptic-oblong, unlike any other species except the Aleutian P. tipuloides, and such plants are readily determined by lip shape and spur characters. Within populations plants may vary greatly in flower size, spur shape and length, and the ratio of spur to lip length. Individual plants may vary markedly in size of the flowers and density of the inflorescence in different years. That situation warrants additional study, as it may obscure the presence of other taxa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 568. | FNA vol. 26, p. 563. |
Parent taxa | Orchidaceae > subfam. Orchidoideae > tribe Orchideae > subtribe Orchidinae > Platanthera | Orchidaceae > subfam. Orchidoideae > tribe Orchideae > subtribe Orchidinae > Platanthera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Habenaria blephariglottis var. integrilabia, Habenaria correlliana | Habenaria limosa, Habenaria thurberi, Limnorchis arizonica |
Name authority | (Correll) Luer: Native Orchids U.S. & Canada, 186. (1975) | Lindley: Ann. Nat. Hist. 4: 381. (1840) |
Web links |