OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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.

image of Spiranthes tuberosa, Little Ladies'-tresses, Little Pearl-twist

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).

image of Spiranthes tuberosa, Little Ladies'-tresses, Little Pearl-twist

JK Marlow    jkm230905_5263

September    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

image of Spiranthes tuberosa, Little Ladies'-tresses, Little Pearl-twist

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).

image of Spiranthes tuberosa, Little Ladies'-tresses, Little Pearl-twist

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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

map
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!



 


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