Spiranthes ochroleuca |
Spiranthes eatonii |
|
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yellow ladies'-tresses, yellow nodding ladies'-tresses, yellow nodding lady's tresses |
Eaton's lady's tresses |
|
Habit | Plants 10–55 cm. | Plants 15–55 cm. |
Roots | few, horizontally spreading, slender, mostly to 0.4 cm diam. |
mostly to 1 cm diam., few, stout. |
Leaves | persisting through anthesis, basal, sometimes on basal portion of stem, spreading, linear-oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, to 21 × 2 cm. |
withering at anthesis, 3–7, basal, spreading, oblanceolate, 5.5 × 0.75–1 cm. |
Spikes | rather loosely to very tightly spiraled, 3–4 flowers per cycle of spiral, occasionally 5 or more in very loose spiral; rachis moderately pubescent, some trichomes capitate, glands obviously stalked. |
secund to tightly spiraled, 8–10 flowers per cycle of spiral; rachis pubescent, some trichomes capitate, glands obviously stalked. |
Flowers | ochroleucous, ivory, creamy, yellowish, or greenish white, ascending, urceolate to somewhat gaping, claw of lip at pronounced (20–60°) angle to lamina, base cuneate, appearing strongly inflated; sepals distinct to base, 6–14 mm; lateral sepals appressed to petals and lip, straight, separated from dorsal sepal by mostly 0.7–1 mm; petals linear to linear-oblong, 6–13 mm, apex acute to obtuse; lip often more yellow centrally, oblong to ovate, 7–12 × 4–7 mm, margins crenulate, glabrous; veins several, branches parallel; basal calli incurved, prominent, very rarely conic, 1–2 mm; viscidia linear; ovary 3–7 mm. |
white; sepals green at base, spatulate, 3–4.5 × 1 mm; petals green at base, linear to lance-oblong, 3–4.5 × 1 mm, apex acute to obtuse; lip with distinct green central portion, ovate to oblong, 3–5 × 2–3 mm, narrowed to rounded apex; veins several, divergent; basal calli pointed outward, thickened, mostly to 1 mm; viscidium linear-lanceolate; ovary mostly 3 mm. |
Seeds | monoembryonic. |
monoembryonic. |
2n | = 30. |
|
Spiranthes ochroleuca |
Spiranthes eatonii |
|
Phenology | Flowering Aug–Nov. | Flowering Feb–May. |
Habitat | Dry to mesic open woodland, thickets, meadows, barrens, ledges, outcrops, banks and roadsides, old fields | Se coastal plain and Gulf Coast in dry to moist fields, pine flatwoods, wood roads, cemeteries |
Elevation | 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft) | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE
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AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
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Discussion | While leaves of Spiranthes ochroleuca are usually present at anthesis, in prairie populations they are commonly absent. Spiranthes ×steigeri was described as a hybrid of S. cernua and S. romanzoffiana, but additional study (P. M. Catling 1984) has shown the plants to be referable to S. ochroleuca. See notes on gene flow and apomixis under 14. Spiranthes cernua. Hybrids of Spiranthes ochroleuca with S. casei are known as S. ×borealis P. M. Brown. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Spiranthes eatonii is easily confused with S. lacera var. lacera (and in herbarium specimens with S. floridana, S. brevilabris, S. tuberosa, and S. torta), except that it flowers in the winter and spring. It is the only white-flowered, basal-leaved Spiranthes within its range to bloom at that time of year. The narrow, oblanceolate leaves are distinctive within this group. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 539. | FNA vol. 26, p. 537. |
Parent taxa | Orchidaceae > subfam. Orchidoideae > tribe Cranichideae > subtribe Spiranthinae > Spiranthes | Orchidaceae > subfam. Orchidoideae > tribe Cranichideae > subtribe Spiranthinae > Spiranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Gyrostachys ochroleuca, S. cernua var. ochroleuca, S. ×steigeri | |
Name authority | (Rydberg) Rydberg: Fl. Plains N. Amer., 241. (1932) | Ames ex P. M. Brown: N. Amer. Native Orchid J. 5: 9, figs. on pp 14, 15. (1999) |
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