Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes tuberosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Spiranthes from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes tuberosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiranthes tuberosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Spiranthes tuberosa
INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-003:
Spiranthes grayi FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium beckii
COMMON NAME:
Little Ladies'-tresses, Little Pearl-twist
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm0505u_05
May Williamsburg County SC
Plants may exhibit flowers in either a tight or a loose spiral, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm230905_5263
September Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
Laura Godfrey lau_20230905_113958
September Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Flowers pure white, vs. S. lacera var. gracilis which has a green blotch or stripe on its lip, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Laura Godfrey lau_20230905_114330
September Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Flowers are exceedingly small, ≤ 1/8", pure white, with the lip finely ruffled along the edges, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes tuberosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes tuberosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiranthes tuberosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Spiranthes tuberosa
INCLUDING
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-003:
Spiranthes grayi
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH (MISAPPLIED)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium beckii
1951
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: In a wide variety of habitats, especially relatively well-drained woodlands and fields, longleaf pine sandhills, dry hammocks, dry pine flatwoods, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p026
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p074
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p407
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p212
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p406
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p029
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p054
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
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