Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Ladies'-tresses from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
INCLUDED WITHIN Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Spiranthes ovalis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-001:
Spiranthes ovalis FAMILY Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium ovale
COMMON NAME:
Lesser Ladies'-tresses, Oval Ladies'-tresses, October Ladies'-tresses
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Rusty Wilson fkw_spiranthes_09222019_1
September Greenwood County SC
Ninety Six National Historic Site
Prefers a heavily shaded habitat, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Rusty Wilson fkw_spiranthes_09222019_2
September Greenwood County SC
Ninety Six National Historic Site
The 1/4" flowers are aligned in 3 fairly vertical ranks, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Rusty Wilson fkw_spiranthes_09222019_3
September Greenwood County SC
Ninety Six National Historic Site
)
Rusty Wilson fkw_spiranthes_09222019_4
September Greenwood County SC
Ninety Six National Historic Site
3 or 4 shiny narrow leaves on lower half of stem are present at flowering, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Rusty Wilson fkw_spiranthes_09222019_6
September Greenwood County SC
Ninety Six National Historic Site
)
Jim Fowler jafsovaliserostella_full
September Rutherford County NC
Flowers usually grouped tightly at the top of an 8-10" stem, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jafsovaliserostellata
September Rutherford County NC
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_ovalis_erostel_3920
September Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
Flowers of this variety are self-pollinating and don't open fully, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata
INCLUDED WITHIN
Aquatic & Wetland Plants of Southeastern US (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981)
Spiranthes ovalis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-12-001:
Spiranthes ovalis
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ibidium ovale
1457
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: swamp forests, bottomland forests, hammocks, ravine forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Carolina Piedmont & Carolina Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
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!
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p377
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p177
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p200
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p407
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p028
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".