Slender Ladies' Tresses
Spiranthes lacera
Summary 3
Spiranthes lacera, commonly called the slender ladies'-tresses, is a species of orchid that is native to Eastern North America. It has a widespread range and is found in a variety of open habitats, both natural and disturbed. It produces a spiral of white flowers in the summer.
Description 4
Plants 15–65 cm. Roots few–several, spreading to descending, mostly to 0.75 cm diam., slender to stout. Leaves, basal, spreading, obovate, 2–5 × 1–2 cm. Spikes secund to tightly spiraled, 8–10 flowers per cycle of spiral; rachis glabrous to sparsely pubescent, trichomes capitate to clavate, glands obviously stalked. Flowers white; sepals somewhat spreading, distinct to base, elliptic, 5 × 1 mm; lateral sepals white throughout, apex acuminate; petals lanceolate, slightly oblique, 5 × 1 mm; lip white with green or yellowish green center, ovate to oblong, 5 × 2.5 mm, apex dilated, its margin crisped-crenate, pubescent; veins obscure; basal calli erect, short-pointed, mostly to 1 mm; viscidium linear-lanceolate; ovary mostly 3 mm. Seeds monoembryonic.
Sources and Credits
- (c) NC Orchid, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/56868999@N00/2697294172
- (c) thesnaguy, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by thesnaguy
- Adapted by bpff from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiranthes_lacera
- (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/5019433
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- Go Botany
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Maryland Biodiversity Project
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
