Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Learn more about Spiranthes from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

Compared to Spiranthes praecox, Spiranthes sylvatica has a laxer spiral (as few as 3-4 flowers per turn), much longer lip (recurved), relatively spreading sepals (oriented downward), larger flowers, with greenish veins on sepals and both lips, and the flowers overall with a more yellowish-green color (vs. bright white), per Weakley's Flora (2022)

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes praecox   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Spiranthes sylvatica

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)

Spiranthes praecox

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-006?:

Spiranthes praecox   FAMILY Orchidaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Ibidium praecox

COMMON NAME:
Woodland Ladies'-tresses, Pale Green Ladies'-tresses

         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_ibpr_001_lvd

        

Jim Fowler    jafssylvatica_3

April    Levy County    FL

Jim Fowler    jafssylvatica_4

April    Levy County    FL

Flowers a creamy green (vs. the bright white of S. praecox), per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes sylvatica   FAMILY Orchidaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes praecox   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiranthes sylvatica

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Spiranthes praecox

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-006?:
Spiranthes praecox   FAMILY Orchidaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium praecox