Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Neottia bifolia
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
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 Southern Twayblade from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Listera australis
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Listera australis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-04-003:
Listera australis FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ophrys australis
COMMON NAME:
Southern Twayblade
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_opau6_001_lvd
)
Jim Fowler jafl_australis
March Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
Its two opposing oval leaves are set about a third of the way up the stem, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jaflaustralis_2050315
March Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
This plant is often overlooked because of its size and color, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jaflisteraau_close050315
March Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
The half-inch flowers usually reddish-purple, pinkish, or purplish-green, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm100313_232
March Grady County GA
Wolf Creek Preserve
A single pair of sessile ovate leaves on the stem, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Neottia bifolia
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Listera australis
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Listera australis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-04-003:
Listera australis
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ophrys australis
2141
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: swamps, second terraces in floodplain forests, wet woods under Rhododendron maximum, Coastal Plain bogs, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Coastal Plain, rare elsewhere
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pinkish/ Purplish-green
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:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p231
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p442
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p201
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p473
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p136
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p178
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p104
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p025
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p209
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".