Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Platanthera clavellata
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 clavellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Platanthera clavellata
INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-011:
Habenaria clavellata var. clavellata FAMILY Orchidaceae
INCLUDING Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Habenaria clavellata var. wrightii
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gymnadeniopsis clavellata
COMMON NAME:
Small Green Wood Orchid, Club-spur Orchid, Woodland Orchid, Streamhead Orchid
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gycl_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm130430_870
April Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210603_0966
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210603_0968
June Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm120705_670
July Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
The lip of each 1/4" flower is slightly larger at its 3-lobed tip, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm150712_437
July Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
Usually 1 major leaf, low but not basal, clasping, keeled, oblanceolate, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm080802_004
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm080802_007
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm230809_4891
August Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230809_4953
August Greenville County SC
Core Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
)
Laura Godfrey lau_20220809_104004
August Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Each flower has a half-inch club-shaped spur that points back & downward, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm210907_3573
September Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
Fruits are small, ellipsoid capsules, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0238
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Platanthera clavellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Platanthera clavellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Platanthera clavellata
INCLUDING
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-011:
Habenaria clavellata var. clavellata
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDING
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Habenaria clavellata var. wrightii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gymnadeniopsis clavellata
628
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: seepages, bogs, swamps, other wet places, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Piedmont, rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
1(2) leaves low on the stem
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Greenish-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:
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) p232
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p221
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p280
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p447
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p044
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p215
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p277
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p072
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p175
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p404
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p068
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p399
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p458
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p027
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p195
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".