Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Platanthera nivea
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Platanthera from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Platanthera nivea
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Platanthera nivea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-009:
Habenaria nivea FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gymnadeniopsis nivea
COMMON NAME:
Snowy Orchid, Bog-spike
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gyni2_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_platanthera_nivea
March
Lip uppermost (flowers not resupinate), per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Jim Fowler jafgymnnive_single030621
June Charlton County GA
Flowers so white as to seem illuminated from within, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Jim Fowler jafgymnnivea_group030621
June Charlton County GA
Once locally abundant in the Carolinas' outer Coastal Plain, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_platanthera_nivea_c
August
Spur 10-18mm long, borne horizontally, and in side view of the inflorescence crossing the rachis, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Platanthera nivea
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Platanthera nivea
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Platanthera nivea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-009:
Habenaria nivea
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gymnadeniopsis nivea
2136
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Wet pine savannas, acid seepages, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, with floral bracts upward
FLOWER:
Spring/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
Raceme
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p228
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p149
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p263
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p370
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p275
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p073
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p180
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p176
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p404
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p076
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p402
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p462
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".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".