Spiranthes tuberosa

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Spiranthes tuberosa
Spiranthes tuberosa AFP.jpg
Photo by Michael Drummond hosted at Atlas of Florida Plants
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Moncots
Order: Orchidales
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Spiranthes
Species: S. tuberosa
Binomial name
Spiranthes tuberosa
Raf.
SPIR TUBE DIST.JPG
Natural range of Spiranthes tuberosa from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common Name(s): little ladies’-tresses, little pearl-twist[1]

Taxonomic Notes

Synonym(s): Spiranthes grayi Ames; Ibidium beckii (Lindley) House - misapplied

Varieties: S. tuberosa var. grayi (Ames) Fernald; S. tuberosa var. tuberosa

Description

Spiranthes tuberosa is a monoecious perennial forb/herb.[2]

Distribution

This species occurs in eastern portions of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, eastward to Florida, northward to New York and Massachusetts, and inland to Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.[2]

Ecology

Habitat

S. tuberosa has been found in sandy oak barrens, oak bluffs, sandy fields, pine and oak woods, sandstone glades, meadows,[3][4] and in well-drained woodlands and fields, sandhills, dry hammocks, and dry pine flatwoods.[1] It is also found in disturbed areas including along roadsides, firebreaks, and parking lot edges.[3][5][4]

Associated species: Liatris squarrosa, Croton willdenowii, C. monanthogynus, Aristida sp., Schizachyrium scoparium, Eryngium yuccifolium, Rubus cuneifolius, Smilax glauca, Eupatorium compositifolium, and seedlings of Rhus copallina, and Coreopsis palmata.[4][6]

Phenology

S. tuberosa has been observed flowering from June through September.[1] However, other sources report flowering occurring in April through June and also in December.[7] Flowers are white.[8]

Fire ecology

Populations of Spiranthes tuberosa have been known to persist through repeated annual burning.[9]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

Cultural use

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Weakley A. S.(2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  2. 2.0 2.1 USDA, NRCS. (2016). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 10 January 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University accessed using Southeastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) data portal. URL: http://sernecportal.org/portal/collections/index.php Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: J. J. Carter, M. L. Fernald, and Francis W. Pennell. States and Counties: Massachusetts: Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket. Rhode Island: Newport. Virginia: Greensville.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Herbarium accessed using Southeastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) data portal. URL: http://sernecportal.org/portal/collections/index.php Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: Theo Witsell. States and Counties: Arkansas: Cleburne and Saline.
  5. Angelo State University Herbarium accessed using Southeastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) data portal. URL: http://sernecportal.org/portal/collections/index.php Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: Stanley D. Jones. States and Counties: Texas: San Jacinto.
  6. Brigham Young University, S. L. Welsh Herbarium accessed using Southeastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) data portal. URL: http://sernecportal.org/portal/collections/index.php Last accessed: June 2021. Collectors: Robert A. Norris. States and Counties: Georgia: Sumter.
  7. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 10 JAN 2018
  8. Plant database: Spiranthes tuberosa. (10 January 2018).Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. URL: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SPTU
  9. Platt, W.J., R. Carter, G. Nelson, W. Baker, S. Hermann, J. Kane, L. Anderson, M. Smith, K. Robertson. 2021. Unpublished species list of Wade Tract old-growth longleaf pine savanna, Thomasville, Georgia.