Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Spiranthes cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy reading Orchids of the Francis Marion National Forest by Jim Fowler.
Learn more about Nodding Ladies'-tresses from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-002a:
Spiranthes cernua var. cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium cernuum
COMMON NAME:
Nodding Ladies'-tresses
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ibce_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_spce_012_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7741
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7760
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm201015_7762
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm211027_4632
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_cernua_2873
October Chesterfield County SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Flowers arranged in more than one rank, each rank spiraling upward, per Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_cernua_cropped
October
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_spiranthes_cernua
October
Flowers' base arched prominently downward, giving flwrs a nodding posture, per Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
)
Ron Lance rwl_spiranthes_cernua
October Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Plants may be up to a foot high, per Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
)
Steve Marlow snm101022_015
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Steve Marlow snm101022_019
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Steve Marlow snm101022_025
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Spiranthes cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-002a:
Spiranthes cernua var. cernua
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium cernuum
1456
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Uncommon
Look for it in bogs, swamps, ditches, usually in acidic, sphagnous situations, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Wet
...Moist
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Bisexual
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
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p132
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p026
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p050
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p073
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p177
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p048
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p053
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History p168
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p405
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p446
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p028
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p277