December 1999 North American Native Orchid Journal

8/8/2019 December 1999 North American Native Orchid Journal

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NORTH AMERICAN NATIVEORCHID JOURNAL

Volume 5 DecemberNumber 4 1999CONTENTS

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

301

RARE WHITE CALYPSO ORCHID IN CLEARCUT

COUNTRY:

A personal journey of discovery, spirituality and hope

Gregory E.Brandenburg

303

HEXALECTRIS REVOLUTA IN ARIZONA

Ronald A. Coleman312

PINK LADY'S-SLIPPER FACT SHEET Cypripedium acauleAnne B. Wagner

316

AN ODDS AND ENDS COLUMN

The Slow Empiricist

325

5th

ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE ORCHID

CONFERENCE330

LOOKING FORWARD:March 2000

332

NATIVE ORCHIDS OF THE NEW JERSEY PINE BARRENS

Christine M. Schairer

333


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BIG ROCK PARK

Stephen Johnson

346

IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF GEORGE ROBERT

"BOBBY" TOLERStan Bentley

355

RECENT TAXONOMIC AND DISTRIBUTIONAL NOTES

FROM FLORIDA 4.Two New Spiranthes Nothospecies from Florida Paul Martin Brown

358

Book Reviews:

WILD ORCHIDS OF TEXASJ. &A. Liggio

368

Unless otherwise credited, all drawings in this issue are by Stan Folsom

Color Plates:1.p. 371 Calypso bulbosa var. americana forma albiflora

2.p. 372Hexalectris revoluta3.p. 373 Cypripedium acaule; Corallorhiza odontorhiza;

4.p. 374 Spiranthes ovalis; S. odorata; S. xitchetuckneensis; S. vernalis; S. praecox; S.

xaustralis

The opinions expressed in theJournal are those of the authors. Scientific articles may besubject to peer review and popular articles will be examined for both accuracy and scientific

content.

Volume 5, number 4, pages 301-374; issued December 10, 1999.

Copyright 1999 by theNorth American Native Orchid Alliance, Inc.Cover:Eulophia alta by Stan Folsom


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NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

As the century comes to a close we complete volume 5 of theJournal. Many changes have taken place over the past five years as

well as four North American Native Orchid Conferences. We have

had our problems with printing, color and mailing but I trust those are

now behind everything and us is reasonably on track. The year 2000promises to be an exciting and reward year in many fields and I am

sure the orchids will be one of them. New species are still being

discovered in North America and many old and familiar species re-

examined and, in some cases, re-addressed with new (or old) names.

November 1999 brought us the sad news of the sudden deathof Bobby Toler, one of the first members of the Alliance. His friend,

and often orchid-hunting companion, Stan Bentley has written a

tribute to Bobby in this issue. I would like to dedicate this issue to

Bobby's memory.

Plans are well underway for the 5th

North American Native

Orchid Conference to be held from July 16-20, 2000 in the

spectacular Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington. If you plan

on attending please do not delay in sending in your registration.

One of the major features of the Journal for 2000 will be the

4-part series assembled by Anne and Ken Wagner on the Rare,

Threatened and Endangered Orchids of North America (north of

Mexico). This will be the first time all of this information will have


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been brought together for a single periodical.

The Journal is still looking for more articles on local orchid

'hot spots' and treatments of specific species or genera. Please

continue to submit your articles. Several new and exciting things are

happening with the orchids here in Florida with my research for theFlorida Native Orchid Project and those results will continue to be

published in theJournal.

Paul Martin Brown Editor

PO Box 772121

Ocala, FL 34477-2121 352/861-2565 - phone & fax Email:

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Brandenburg: RARE WHITE CALYPSO ORCHID IN CLEARCUTCOUNTRY

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RARE WHITE CALYPSO ORCHID INCLEARCUT COUNTRY:

a personal journey of discovery spiritualityand hope

Gregory E. Brandenburg

The boreal forest of north-central Alberta, thatcollectively I call home, has been a gradual ecosystematic

discovery and appreciation. It's stately spruce, pine andmixed hardwoods blend with marshes, fens, andabundant springs creating a biodiversity that has beenunequaled in my travels. The endearment towards theOrchid family in this northern boreal forest borders onobsessive, on behalf of botanists I have guided throughthese mossy pathways for the past twenty years. Hereflowering orchids span the seasons of the snow freemonths. Eastern fairy-slipper, Calypso bulbosa var.

americana being the official notification of spring, withhooded ladies'-tresses, Spiranthes romanzoffianasignalingthat frost is just around the corner and announces theemergence of autumn.


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Within this phenological framing I haveencountered within a twenty-km radius of area that Iregularly explore for medicinal plants, more than twentyspecies of orchids. These include several species ofcoralroots, Corallorhiza, lady's-slippers, Cypripedium, reinorchids, Platanthera, twayblades, Listera, adder's-mouths,

Malaxis, and orchis, Amerorchis, throughout myperegrination over these years.

One of the finest and most memorable sights I'vehad the honour to meet was Calypso bulbosavar. americanaforma albiflora. This colony of white calypso orchids,

within a nation of its more typical pink counter-parts.Distinct, and to a trained eye, outstanding!

The setting of this white calypso colony occursnear a scenic boreal marl spring known as "Granny' sSpring". (Granny Belcourt used to take her water fromthis source, and lived to be 104.)

The special bog adder's-mouth,Malaxis paludosagrows here, as the setting is right. Just the gentle soundsof water flowing into the marl pools. To begin this storyI'll have to introduce you to Tash (Natasha), the

daughter of my friends from the closest village in thearea, Marlboro (Alberta). Tash was about eight years oldin 1991 when from time to time she would accompanyme on excursions or adventures into the forest. Herreceptive eyes and retentive memory added to an


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abundance of curiosity made her a perfect wanderingcompanion.

During the early months of 1995 Tash haddeveloped a lump under her arm, and it kept growing. It

was now towards the end of May (May 21) - a mostmemorable day - the worst day of my life. On this day

we received word that the lump was diagnosedmalignant. Cancer. A day of tears, anguish, hopelessness,finally turned into hopefulness.

It was a fashioning of a stumbling block into abuilding block. And so a promise was now made to

myself (God keeps his promise. God lives inside you.)For everything there is a reason - awareness gave theanswer. This specific area has been termed by indigenouspeople since antiquity as "Medicine Lodge" It was insearch for a botanical remedy of Tashs clash with cancer

which brought me to roam this location.

I now followed a path once affirmed for me inFindhorn, Scotland. I was viewing the landscape as anEthnobotanist, blending in my botanical excursions, the

combinations of knowledge, pharmicudical botany,diagnosis and spirituality. The night before I discoveredthe white calypso colony was spent in preparation. Themorning of May 22 began with a prayer for guidance forher botanical remedy, and a gathering I did go.


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The first ethnobotanical plant of the morning andthe furthest afield I had come to gather was a portion ofthe large yellow lady's-slipper root, Cypripedium

parviflorum var. pubescens. The erect seed stalks hadwithstood the winter snows and its capsules waved like aflag.

Sweetgrass was lit, and a prayer of thanks givenwith a gift of tobacco (You must always give before youachieve.) For ethnobotany is both a spiritual and aconservation endeavor. I carefully removed a portion ofthe root, then liberating to the wind seeds from thecrushed portion of the pods. The formula also required

club-moss, Lycopodium clavatum, the last plant to begathered. From thence time will tell, my finish will nowbe Tash's beginning.

This club-moss was growing around mosscovered rotted lodgepole pine and white spruce stumpson the edge of an area that had been selectively logged inthe late 1950's. Through natural regeneration, spruce,pine, and aspen poplar now blended the forest canopy.

The forest floor waved in a carpet of iridescence through

an incredible proliferation of Calypso bulbosa. Thebeholder was truly a happy wanderer, backpack full ofbotanical treasures, soaked, smiling and appreciative. Irecalled the phrase "what the stars are to the heavens,flowers are to the earth."


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Within a field of these pinkfairy slippers a smallcluster in contrast waved with an illumination exhibitinga purity, even a spiritualness that affirmed my missionand exemplified hope, clarity, and faith in miracles. They

were white calypsos - eight of them in full bloom. Acolony unlike any I have ever witnessed then and now.

The great environmentalist and wildernessadvocate John Muir had met two white calypso orchidsin the Holland River Swamps of Ontario in 1866. Hisdescription of these became his first published work

when it appeared in the Boston Record Dec.21, 1866.Muir's description had very much paralleled my own

impressions.

As he wrote" I never before saw a plant so full oflife, so perfect, spiritual, it seemed pure enough for thethrone of its creator. I felt as if I was in the presence ofsome superior being who loved me and beckoned me tocome. I sat down beside them and wept for joy. Couldangels in their better land show us a more beautifulplant? How good is our Heavenly Father in granting ussuch friends as these plant-creatures, filling us wherever

we go with pleasure so deep, so pure, so endless."

Later in life John Muir, queried by a news reporterfor the two most significant events in his life replied,


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"meeting Ralph Waldo Emerson, and meeting the whitecalypso orchid in a swamp in Ontario".

For myself as I gazed transfixed, the words of Wm. Blake sprang into mind "To see the world in agrain of sand. Heaven in a wild flower. To touch infinityin the palm of your hand. And eternity within the hour."

To care is to share, and in this instance, it alsoreveals the "all to familiar" perils of trust. I shared theuniqueness of these blooming white orchids with twoindividuals I had guided with the hope of achieving theneeded site protection and the plants receiving thenecessary botanical validation.

Surprise! I revisited the colony four days later, tocheck and say farewell. Where the white calypso oncegrew, all that was left was a shallow scoop, a scar in thecontinuity of the moss carpet. Gone!

As I recall that devastating moment somecompassionate thought did arise; a poem from my firstsummer in the forest, I titled the poem Forest Wind:

There is a forest, it lies beneath my feet.It has no path, but the one it seeksEverywhere round is beauty and lifeAll in balance, with a touch of strife.


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Three years have now transpired, and onlythrough the grace of God these little treasures are re-appearing on the fringe of where the whole colony oncegrew. The scar is healing and the memories remain.

The spirituality, romance, and literary aspects ofthe white calypsos are further enhanced with theinclusion of the encouraging response forwarded to mein July 1999 by Paul Martin Brown, Editor of the North

American Native Orchid Journal. After my forwarding aseries of detailed photographs to him, he informed methat his initial conclusion is that the colony appeared tohe the very rare white flowered form of the easternfairy slipper,Calypso bulbosavar. americanaforma albiflora

- the result from a change of a single gene within aspecific seed capsule. Although the white flowered formsare often referred to as albinos they are not as they docontain chlorophyll in the leaves. Whenever seed isproduced from the white flowered forms, they typicallyproduce pink flowered plants. This seems to be the firstsizeable colony of this color form ever found. Thegenetic anomaly normally applies to a sing1e individualnever a colony.

The vibrant green leaves of these plants seem tocontrast from the typically yellowish tinge of other whiteflowered calypso anomaly, nitrogen deficient prospects.Only time and analysis will answer these questions.


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In closure Id like to thank Dr. Jim Butler,Professor, Dept. of Renewable Resources, University of

Alberta, for being a catalyst in this writing and taking thetime and effort in these most excellent documentalphotographs.

Along with the above and equal appreciation; PaulMartin Brown of theNorth American Native Orchid Journal,

whose expertise removed one self imposed stigma,"Clueless in the orchid patch" Many Thanks. And to

Tash (Natasha R. Belcourt, Granny's great-granddaughter) who is now fifteen and a half, a healthyteenager, above average, athletic student going into grade11, whose charm and beauty can only deciphered by her

moods. All is well that ends well.

Although these white calypsos grow in CLEARCUT COUNTRY, within a forest management area of

WEYERHAEUSER CANADA, sound selective cuttingon behalf of an earlier, small, local, conscientiousforesters had left the forest floor biologically intact,facilitating these plants. Modern clear-cutting, followedby scarification and planting of favoured monoculturesare less favorable to wild orchid colonies like this one.

Paul Martin Brown described this colony as "veryspecial", and encouraged careful monitoring over theyears to follow this unique colony. Brown alsoencouraged in his communication "Immediate


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protection of the site from development, logging andpoaching."

The author remains hopeful that Weyerhaeuser will accept this location as an area of specialmanagement regulations in the interest of environmentalprotection maintaining the natural genetic and biologicaldiversity of the boreal forest ecosystem.

Many Thanks.Gregory E. Brandenbergc/o Stan Belcourt , Box 64445 (64451), Edson, Alberta, CanadaT7E 1T8


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Coleman: Hexalectris revoluta

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HEXALECTRIS REVOLUTAIN

ARIZONA

Ronald A. Coleman

Hexalectris revoluta was described by Correll in 1941. It

remains a little known and seldom seen species. Luer (1975)

showed it in only two locations: in the state of Nuevo Leon in

Mexico, and the Big Bend area of Texas. This species has now

been identified in southeastern Arizona, which is a significant

western and northern range extension.

Credit for the first discovery of the plant in Arizona goesto Larry Toolin and Frank Reichenbacher, who discovered it in

south central Pima County in 1981. However, they identified the

plant as Hexalectris spicata, which is reasonable given the keys in

local floras. A second discovery, this time by Steve McLaughlin,


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was made in 1986 in the southern part of Pima County. Like


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Toolin and Reichenbacher, McLaughlin identified the

plants as H. spicata. Both of these discoveries are documented with

collections, housed at the herbarium of the University of Arizona.

My experience with these plants dates from 1996 when

McLaughlin took me to his site in southern Pima County. Only

one plant bloomed that year, and it was damaged by insects.However, the next year over one dozen plants bloomed at that

location, fueling up my suspicion that this was not H. spicata, but

rather H. revoluta.

My tentative identity and slides of the plants taken in 1997

were sent to Paul Catling, who is studying the genus Hexalectris

and preparing the treatment for the Flora of North America

series. We discussed the plants several times, and in 1998 Catlingand Engel confirmed my identification of the plants as Hexalectris.

revoluta. The main characteristic that makes H. revoluta easy to

identify is the presentation of its sepals and petals. They are free

and spreading and rolled back along the outer third of their length

more than 360 degrees. Their background color is light tan to pale

rose. The lateral lobes of the lip have distinct purple veining over

a whitish tan to rose tan base. The central lobe of the lip had the

raised ridges characteristic ofHexalectris.

Hexalectris revoluta has been positively identified at three

locations in Arizona, and is probable at a fourth. The first two

sites are those discovered by Toolin and Reichenbacher, and by

McLaughlin. The author found a third site in Pima County, about


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ten miles distance from McLaughlin's site. A fourth location in

Cochise County is suspected to harbor the orchid. In 1998 flower

spikes appeared in late May that looked identical to those of H.

revoluta in size and color. However, the spikes all withered before

the buds were mature enough to make a positive identification.

No plants appeared at that site in 1999. Habitat is the same atboth locations. The plants grow in canyon bottoms and on the

sides of canyons at about 5000' elevation. They root in soil and

duff under oaks and mesquite, often in association with Arizona

walnut. Most of the plants are in moderate shade, but some grow

in bright light part of the day,

Ronald A. Coleman, University of Arizona, 11520 E. Calle

Del Valle, Tucson, AZ, 85749.

Ron is a frequent contributor to this Journal as well as several

other orchid-related publications and is the author ofWild Orchids

of California.

Literature cited:

Correll, D.S. 1941. Native Orchids of North America north of Mexico.

Chronica Botanica, Waltham.

Luer, C.A. 1975. Native Orchids of the United States and Canada, not

including Florida. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx.


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Wagner: PINK LADY'S-SLIPPER: Cypripedium acaule

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Fact Sheet:

PINK LADY'S-SLIPPER

Cypripedium acaule

Anne B. Wagner

Pink lady's-slipper, Cypripedium acaule, may be

the best-known native wildflower. Certainly, it is the

largest and most abundant of about thirty-three speciesof native orchids growing in Rhode Island. Unlike other

orchids, the pink lady's-slipper prefers the dry, sandy,

acid soils and dappled shade of pine-oak or mixed

deciduous forests, although it can be found in wetter

areas, too, on hummocks in bogs and swamps.

Companion plants often include blueberries and

huckleberries.

The two oval, basal leaves lie almost flat upon theground, maximizing the surface area available to collect

sunlight filtering through the canopy for photosynthesis.

A leafless 6-15 scape supports the flower whose lower


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lipa modified petalforms the familiar pink pouch

that reminds people of a shoe or a slipper, leading to the

common names of ladys-slipper or moccasin

flower. Indeed, the botanical name Cypripedium

derives from Greek meaning Venus slipper. Usuallythe pouch is a shade of pinkpale to rose to

raspberry with a tracery of red veins. White-flowered

forms (forma albiflora) occasionally occur.

Pink lady's-slippers are not rare in Rhode

Island. Hikers may encounter large colonies carpeting

forest floors during bloom time in May. Individual

plants can live as long as one hundred years, but the

plant may flower only 10-20 times during its lifetime.Producing flowers takes energy and a plant may need

several years to accumulate enough resources to expend

on flower production. Making seed requires still greater

energy; a pink lady's-slipper may set seed only 2-5

times in its life.

Native bumblebees pollinate the flowers.

Bumblebees are strong enough to force open the fissure

in the pouch. As they search for nectar along a route thatbrings their large, hairy bodies in contact with the

saddlebag-like globs of pollen (pollinia) which attach

themselves to the bee as it exits the flower and flies to


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the next bloom. Unfortunately, the next bloom may not

be a pink lady's-slipper! Bees quickly learn that these

orchids produce no nectar, so they choose other flowers

to visit. This is one reason why so few of these orchids

produce seed.

When a plant does produce seed, however, the

capsule may contain thousands the size and weight of

dust particles. Orchid seeds are so light because they

contain no endosperm, that nutrient portion of a seed

that nourishes the infant plant. Chance plays a role in

successful germination. Wind-borne pink lady's-

slipper seeds must alight on an appropriate surface and

must establish a symbiotic or parasitic connection with asoil fungus (mycorrhiza.) The mycorrhiza provides the

nutrients that enable the seed to germinate and that

sustain the young plants growth. In the laboratory,

plants can be grown without mycorrhizae. In the wild,

newly-germinated Cypripedium acaule plants may require

several years to develop a root system before sending up

their first leaf.

Pink lady's-slipper roots do not grow deep. They remain in the shallow layer of oxygen-rich,

biologically-active humus. Roots are brittle and delicate,

easily damaged. If a root tip, the active growing portion


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How can I transplant pink lady's-slipper plants?Never dig up a pink lady's-slipper! Diggingpinklady's-slippers damages roots so badly that plantsmust live on stored nutrients, depleting theirresources. New roots do not grow fast enough tosupport a transplant and eventually, the plant dies.Rhode Island law states that it is illegal to pick ordig a plant from public or private property

without written permission of the landowner.

Can I grow pink lady's-slippers from seeds Icollected in the wild? Few wild pink lady's-slippers produce viable seed. Many flowers arenever pollinated. When a plant does produce seed,the capsule contains thousands and thousands of

minute, dust-like seeds. The seeds lack endosperm,the nutrient component of seeds that supportsgerminating tissues in most plants. Pink lady's-slipper seeds, dispersed by wind, must establish arelationship with a soil fungus that supplies nutrientsto induce the orchid seed to germinate and establishroots. Under laboratory conditions, pink lady's-slipper seeds have been made to germinate, but theaverage gardener cannot. Possibly, if the seeds aredispersed over an area where plants are already

growing, some seed may germinate. Remember,Rhode Island law prohibits picking plant parts

without written permission of the landowner. Leaveseed capsules on the plants.


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How can I increase the number of pink lady's-slippers growing in my woods? One suggestion isto increase the chances of seed production by hand-pollinating some of your blooming plants. Get abook from the library on botany or orchid growingand learn to identify the sexual parts of an orchidflower, that differ somewhat from the sexual parts inmost other flowers. Then get down on the groundand study the pink lady's-slipper flowers until youcan identify the parts. Using a toothpick or twig, pickup a glob of pollen from one flower and transfer it tothe underside of the stigma of a different flower.Remember, not all plants flower every year. It maytake several years for a plant to store the energy to

flower and set seed. There used to be lots of pink lady's-slippers inmy woods, but now there arent as many. Why?

What can I do about it? Pink lady's-slippersprefer dappled or light shade. As nearby trees andshrubs mature, they produce heavier shade, deprivingladys-slippers of light for photosynthesis. Cut downor prune shrubs casting heavy shade. Limb up orprune branches from mature trees or cut down oneor two trees to let in more light. Pink lady's-

slippers suffer from competing roots. Weed aroundthe orchid patch, removing aggressive vines, shrubsand grasses. Other factors affecting pink lady's-slipper populations may include: shifts in drainagepatterns; loss of habitat due to development; too


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much sun because of logging, clearing ordevelopment; prolonged drought or other adverse

weather conditions; illegal digging of plants bypoachers; root damage by deer or human traffic.

Are pink lady's-slippers rare plants? Pink lady's-slippers grow across Canada from Newfoundlandand Nova Scotia west to Manitoba, south into theU.S. to Georgia, west to Alabama, north toMinnesota and are frequent to abundant in dry tomoist, acid, oak-pine or coniferous forests. Stands of

pink lady's-slippers may comprise a few to dozensof plants, but not all plants bloom every year.Populations may decline over the years because ofincreasingly heavy shade from maturing trees or from

competition from aggressive plants or from someother cause. Some populations of ladys-slippers maydisappear because of development. Perhaps, asRhode Islands abandoned fields succeed into forest,new stands ofpink lady's-slippers may appear.

Anne Wagner, Hilltop, Portsmouth, RI

Suggested Literature:Brown, Paul Martin. 1997. Wild Orchids of the Northeastern United

States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 62-63.

Cullina, Bill. Rooted in MysteryHow Does the Pink lady's-slipperGrow? New England Wild Flower NotesVol. 1(1),Spring 1997. p. 7.


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__________ Growth Requirements of thePink lady's-slipper. New England Wild Flower, Vol. 1(2), Fall/Winter1997. p. 4.

Deno, Norman C. 1990. Seed Germination Theory and PracticeAvailable from the author: 139 Lenor Drive, State College,

PA 16801.

Longland, David. 1990. Pink lady's-slipperPlant Resource SheetFramingham, MA: New England Wild Flower Society.

Moon, Mary A. 1998. Dont Try This at Home. New York StateConservationist, April. p. 7.

Niering, William A. and Nancy C. Olmstead. 1995. NationalAudubon Society Field Guide to North American WildflowersEastern Region. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 651.

Steele, Bill. 1998. Propagating North American CypripediumSpecies from Seed: Successes and Problems. NorthAmerican Native Orchid Journal4 (3): 200-216.


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Empiricist: AN ODDS AND ENDS COLUMN

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AN ODDS AND ENDS COLUMN

The Slow Empiricist

I have gone over all my previous columns and

have up-dated some of them and have put them

together in one publication as a bonus for those people

who sent in their 2000 subscription orders by

November 15, 1999. The new compendium should be

included in with your December issue if you complied

with the directions.

When I reread and reworked my old columns,they peaked my intent to up-date you about some of

the events that have occurred since the publication of

the some of the particular columns. I titled this column

An Odds and Ends Column so that I could bring you

this new information on some of the things that have

been happening in the world of orchids as I have found

out about them. Things seem to change all the time

and sometimes for the better.

When I wrote about Florida's dancing lady,

Tolumnia bahamensis, I complained about the

seemingly senseless policy dictating the rescuing of

threatened orchids. I have since learned that you can

rescue orchids without all the waiting for the powers


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that be to act on your request if the orchid is threatened

with immediate extermination (like from in front of a

bulldozer). This does not give you carte blanch to go

about raping the country-side but it does allow you to

act more quickly to attempt to save the orchids. Now,this is for the state of Florida. You will have to check

your own state's or country's regulations in this matter

before you act to save a threatened orchid or you could

be in trouble. .

A further up-date on the dancing lady will

hearten you. There have been found several colonies

near the other extant sites, which bodes better for the

survival of this species. Also a rescued plant that was

grown as a terrestrial in a greenhouse environment has

survived and flowered exuberantly this spring. This

suggests that the orchid needs to be treated as a

terrestrial like it grows in the wild. Remember, it starts

in the ground and sends long shoots up a convenient

rosemary shrub where it puts out flowering spikes,

which give it the look of an epiphyte. Previous

attempts to grow it on bark saw the plant decline andwhither away.

If you think that my column on foolers was all

inclusive you must think again. As I explore for

orchids, I find there are lots more foolers lurking out

there. As soon as I can amass enough new ones I hope


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to spread the word via another column on them. One

that comes to mind is the tiny fern that puts up a leaf

that looks so much like an orchid out of flower that I

have mistaken it for the orchid. Of course finding the

Ophioglossum is also a pleaser so you shouldn't feeltoo bad if you incorrectly identify it as an orchid. The

orchids are much more plentiful than the fern.

This fall when I returned from Maine to Florida,

I was exploring for flowering plants of Habenaria

quinqueseta at a preserve near my home, I kept

confusing the orchids with common sow thistles that

grew all through the same area. My persistence

rewarded me with a nice stand of about seven plants in

full flower as well as many other sites in that area.

There were large patches of rosettes with a few in

flower to some plants that had begun to ripen into fruit

as well as a few individuals in prime condition. .

New taxa are being identified almost

every month. Like the new color form for Sacoila

lanceolata. After the columns appeared about thenew color form,folsomii,several people contacted the

Journal about seeing that color form in the tropics.

Paul Martin Brown found an old botanical print of the

Sacoila this summer while vacationing in Maine, that

was definitely bronzy-orange rather than the common

red color. He checked the publication of this print at


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the herbarium at Harvard University in Cambridge,

Massachusetts. The Harvard copies were identical in

color to the print he discovered up in Maine. The

tropical plants belong to Sacoila lanceolata, but the

color form had not been described so forma folsomiistill remains true. The plants will be studied carefully

in the next few years as the article in the March 1999

Journal about them described the processes to be

employed.

Since for most of the readers this is the time of

the winter season when orchids are hard to come by in

the wild. Unless you live in a southern climate or can

take a winter vacation to a warmer place you will be

hard pressed to enjoy fieldwork as one of my winter

columns lamented. As I also pointed out in that

column, this does not mean you are to sit back and

cool your heels waiting for spring to reawaken the

little gems you love to find in nature. You can spend

some time in educational pursuits as I have urged in

several previous columns. One thing that I didn't

emphasize was the availability of good books on thesubject. If you don't have access to a good resource

like a nearby college or university, or you don't have a

good library or bookstore to explore, study the

Journal! Books are being published that are adding to

our knowledge of the orchids to be found in specific


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parts of the North American continent. You can find

information about them in most issues of the North

American Native Orchid Journal.Paul Martin Brown

usually includes a good review of the current

literature. This includes the name and address of thepublisher and the price so you may order them for you

perusal. Or, you can urge your library or local orchid

society to buy one for all to enjoy. Or, you could

donate your copy to those institutions for others to

enjoy.

I will close with the admonition that soon the

winter season will be over and you should be using

this time to enrich your knowledge with study. Lots of

my columns harped on this theme so if you have

subscribed early you will have the entire set to refresh

your memory on what can be accomplished. It is still

imperative to continue to grow in understanding and

knowledge about these often, tiny wonders of the plant

kingdom. Now is a good time to get started. Spring is

coming as surely as tax time for all the people who

live in the United States of America. I would muchrather spend time learning something new about

orchids then figuring out my income tax. Wouldn't you

find the study of orchids a similarly pleasant pastime?

The Slow Empiricist


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LOOKING FORWARD

MARCH 2000

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Orchids of NorthAmerica (north of Mexico)

Part 1

The GenusHabenaria in the Southeastern United

States

and more..


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Schairer: NEW JERSEY PINE BARRENS

333

NATIVE ORCHIDS OF THE NEW

JERSEY PINE BARRENS

Christine M. Schairer

New Jersey, one of the most densely populatedstates in the Northeast, has a land area of only 7,509

square miles. Many people think that New Jersey is just

an overcrowded resort state, particularly the southern

half of the state. Besides casinos and miles of coastline,

South Jersey is also home to many historic sites like

Batsto and Atsion, and to some of the most spectacular

plant species known to mankind, including a surprisingly

large number of native orchids. Most of which can be

found in a 2,250 square mile stretch of land known as

the Pine Barrens.


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The Pine Barrens represents a unique ecological

niche. The Barrens are home to the Pine Barrens

treefrog, Hyla andersoni, the miniature curly-grass fern,

Schizaea pusilla, as well as to 28 native orchids. Its

distinctive flora, wilderness, and complete contrast withurban surroundings make the Pine Barrens a precious

resource. Within the pinelands there are cedar bogs,

swamps, cranberry bogs, blueberry fields, flowing

streams, and tidal rivers. The soil in the Pine Barrens

comprises an intrinsic mosaic of very acidic, sandy

uplands with very few nutrients, and little water-

retention capability-perfect habitat for our native

orchids.

Like many people, I also did not know that the

Pine Barrens was home to many unique forms of

wildlife. In Spring 1990, I came across my first native

orchid, Cypripedium acaule, commonly known as the pink

ladys-slipper, or pink-moccasin flower, while planting

blueberry bushes on a local farm. In August of the same

year along a roadside in Mullica Township, I wasinformed of a colony of plants that might be orchids. In

fact, this colony was Platanthera blephariglottis, also known

as white fringed orchid. My limited knowledge that

there may be more native orchids began to improve. It

was not until 1994, as a sophomore in college, when I

was given a list of the Pine Barren orchids that I became


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determined to find out more about them. After

gathering information on the different types of

environments that native orchids will survive in, I began

my extensive search to find all 28 orchids on the list.

Our native orchids grow in many different types

of environment. Cypripedium acaule grows best in the

humus deciduous woods. I found C. acauleand its white

flowered form, C. acaule forma albiflorum, respectively

growing in blueberry fields, sides of roads, and in pine

forests. One particular area is Batsto where I can usually

find over 200 C. acaule blooming, as well as C. acauleforma albiflorum. I first spotted this particular plant on

May 15, 1995, the day before my 21st birthday when I

almost accidentally stepped on it. Arethusa bulbosa,

dragons-mouth,Calopogon tuberosus, grass-pink,Pogonia

ophioglossoides, rose pogonia, Platanthera (Habenaria)

blephariglottis, white fringed orchid, and Platanthera

(Habenaria) cristata, crested yellow orchid, all grow in

boggy conditions from bogs to ditches. Rose pogonia

and white fringed orchid have been found to existamong roadside ditches.

Native orchids are terrestrial, that is they grow in

the ground. Terrestrial orchids have a sympodial


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vegetative growth, where the growth of the main axis

ceases at the end of a season and resumes the next year

by the development of a different axis. Depending on

the species, the leaves may or may not be present at time

of flowering or may appear separately at a differentseason, such as Tipularia discolor, the cranefly orchid.

Many of the native orchids have prominent corms or

tubers, such as Arethusa bulbosaand Calopogon tuberosus.

According to Carlyle A. Luer, author ofThe Native

Orchids of the United States and Canada, excluding Florida,

terrestrial species without leaves presumably exist

without chlorophyll. In fact, they have become

essentially saprophytic, taking their nourishment from

decaying matter in the soil in conjunction with a

mycorrhizal fungus. This fungus is needed for the

survival of our native orchids. This is why when one

digs up a native orchid, it will not survive for more than

a few years as in the case of the pink ladys-slipper.

Native orchids will not survive in an environment

different from the one they are used to.

The destruction of our natural habitats, as a result

of trampling, mowing, fires, and residential build-up

could destroy our native orchids. For example,

Platanthera nivea, the snowy orchis, once thrived in the


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Bennett Bogs in Cape May County1. However, due to

development this species has not been seen there since

the late 1980s. Since native orchids rely on a special

fungi, mycorrhiza, orchids can not be transplanted from

one environment to another. Due to their beauty, manypeople think that no one will notice if a native orchid is

dug up or picked. In fact, orchid lovers and botanists do

notice. I did come across a corner where Platanthera

blephariglottis and Spiranthes lacera var. gracilis, slender

ladies'-tresses, were growing. The next day when I

went with my father to take pictures, all that was left

were two small holes where two tall Platanthera plants

once grew. We should cherish our native treasures, and

leave the plants and flowers for others to see. The only

true way to reproduce our native orchids is by spreading

the seeds from a seedpod onto a special formula, known

as agar. Once the seed germinates and the plants are

large enough to come out of the flask, they can be

planted back out in the environment. By doing this type

of culture, we know we can try to save some species

from extinction.

REFERENCES:

Luer, Carlyle A. The Native Orchids of the United States and Canada,

excluding Florida. 1975.

1The Bennett Bogs in Cape May County are not technically in the Pine

Barrens, but are often included in their floras as this area represent a ''Pine

Barrens element" in southernmost New Jersey and have a plant association

more typical of the central New Jersey pinelands. PMB


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Robichaud Collins, Beryl and Karl Anderson. Plant Communities

of New Jersey. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994.

Christine M. Schairer, 418 Hamburg Ave., Egg Harbor, New

Jersey 08215lives in the Devonshire section of Mullica Township, New

Jersey. She received a BS in Biology in 1997, and a BA in Teacher

Education with an elementary certificate in May 1999, from Richard

Stockton College of New Jersey. She has been raising orchids since

1986, at the age of 12, and belongs to Sandpiper Orchid Society since

1987. Since 1994, Christine has found 18 of the 28 native orchids in the

New Jersey Pine Barrens with the help and encouragement of her father,

Bruce C. Schairer and her boss, Nancy Burke.

PINE BARRENS ORCHIDS

Bloom Period Common Name Scientific Name

4/20-5/25 southern twayblade Listera australis

5/12-5/20 large whorled pogonia Isotria verticillata

5/15-5/30 pink lady's-slipper Cypripedium acaule

5/10-6/10 dragon's-mouth Arethusa bulbosa

5/20-6/2 putty-root Aplectrum hyemale

5/25-6/15 bog twayblade Liparis loeselii

6/3-6/20 grass-pink Calopogon tuberosus

6/3-7/2 rose pogonia Pogonia ophioglossoides

6/8-6/15 lily-leaved twayblade Liparis liliifolia

6/20-6/30 ragged fringed orchid Platanthera lacera


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6/27-7/4 spreading pogonia Cleistes divaricata

7/4-7/12 northern slender ladies'-tresses Spiranthes lacera var.

lacera

7/4-7/25 spring ladies'-tresses Spiranthes vernalis

7/4-8/6 green adder's-mouth Malaxis unifolia

7/10-8/15 little ladies'-tresses Spiranthes tuberosa

7/15-8/2 rattlesnake plantain Goodyera pubescens

7/15-8/3 crane-fly orchis Tipularia discolor

7/20-8/5 white fringed orchid Platanthera blephariglottis

7/21-8/15 crested yellow orchid Platanthera cristata

7/22-8/6 yellow fringed orchid Platanthera ciliaris

7/22-8/18 green wood orchid Platanthera clavellata

7/25-8/9 Canby's hybrid orchid Platantheraxcanbyi

7/25-9/10 snowy orchis Platanthera nivea

8/10-8/24 southern yellow orchid Platanthera integra

8/13-9/14 southern slender ladies'-tresses

Spiranthes laceravar.gracilis

8/20-9/10 lace-lipped ladies'-tressesSpiranthes laciniata

8/30-9/8 autumn coralroot Corallorhiza odontorhiza

9/20-10/20 nodding ladies'-tresses Spiranthes cernua


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Johnson: ORCHIDS IN BIG ROCK PARK

346


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ORCHIDS IN BIG ROCK PARK,

SOUTHERN IOWA

Stephen RJohnson, Ph.D.

Big Rock Park, a name denoting an obvious focusing

point for visitors- a large glacial remnant, is a natural area in the

town of Pella, Iowa. Many people probably know Pella as the

home of Pella Windows, but as I discovered, its also home to at

least four species of orchids.

Big Rock Park is an 83-acre bottomland hardwood

forest with a dense canopy of silver maple (Acer saccharinum),

basswood (Tilia americana) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis).

But floristic evidence indicates that Big Rock Park was once

more open. For example older trees in the park are either burr

oak (Quercus macrocarpa) or honey locust (Gleditsia

tricanthos). There are also several herbaceous plants that

usually inhabit savanna or prairie such as prairie fawn illy

(Erythronium mesochoreum), brown-eyed susan (Rudbeckia

triloba) and wild geranium (Geranium maculatum).

I first became acquainted with Big Rock in the fall of

1997. By the spring of 1998, I was familiar with both the man-


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made and deer-forged trails. In early April 1998, I was on a deer

trail and saw the emerging leaves of showy orchis, Galearis

spectabilis. I visited these plants until the emerging foliage of

surrounding herbs and shrubs obscured the orchids' position

completely. But on a man-made trail, farther south in the park, I

found five showy orchis plants with developing flower spikes. I

visited these orchids every day to see their development. When

these known plants began to open their flowers, I walked all of

the man-made trails and discovered four other clumps of showy

orchis in bloom. All of these clumps were within one foot of

the trail.

I never saw any pollination ofshowy orchis but by mid

summer at least one plant from each clump had swollen fruits.

While searching in May for showy orchis on the man-

made trails, I came upon two plants of lily-leaved twayblade

orchid (Liparis liliifolia). These two plants were within four

inches of the trail edge. I monitored them all summer and sawthat they set no fruit. I saw no important insect activity around

the twayblades. In fact the only insect visitor I saw was a tiny

brown ant visiting the flowers. But later in the fall, I saw that

some larger animal had visited them. One twayblade was

flattened steamroller style while most of the trails were


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decorated with red, yellow and green paintballs.

The remainder of that 1998 spring revealed no more

orchids. But I was hopeful and persistent. In the first week of

September I was again rewarded with two additional orchids.

The third orchid was autumn coralroot (Corallorhiza

odontorhiza). In early September this orchid grew in profusion

along a trail in the western corner of the park and within site of

the big rock. They grew even in the trails and the park

maintenance staff mowed a few. These mid-September

"flowering" plants were cleistogamous. By the time that these

cleistogamous corral root orchids withered in early October, I

saw a single plant of an open flowered autumn coral root ( var.

pringlez) on a trail a few yards north of the cleistogamous

plants. I saw its vividly spotted pink lip in the corner of my eye.

But I found no other open flowered autumn coralroot orchids in

the area. Phil I


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Iowa (Roosa and Eilers, 1994). Spiranthes ovalis is also rare in

Big Rock Park. I found only three plants, only two of which

produced flowers. These plants also developed fruits, but the

fruiting stalks of both plants were cut before the fruits matured.

These three plants were growing on the edge of the trail and

behind them grew vigorous specimens of the invasive Amur

honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii).

The spring of 1999 was wet in southern Iowa and new

growth emerged more quickly and luxuriously than it did in the

previous year. Most of the showy orchis plants that I had found

in 1998, I couldn't find again in 1999. But I did find a

previously non-flowering clump of showy orchis along a trail in

the extreme southwestern part of the park. This comer of the

park has only a thin line of trees next to developing

urbanization. These were also the largest plats of showy orchis

I'd seen in the park. One was over a foot tall with 12 flowers.

They were also growing in the shade of a monstrous new house.

That spring brought bad news to another orchid in the

park. While my friend Mary and I were walking the trail where

the twayblades grew, she saw something that she said looked

like a garlic clove laying on top of the ground. I looked more

closely and found both twayblade corms lying exposed. A


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bulldozing mole had apparently unearthed them. I replanted

both corms in their previously held sites but found them lolling

in sunshine two days later. So I moved them down hill about

three feet below their original sites and rereplanted them. I

visited them throughout the spring and by mid May, I saw them

rise from what I certainly thought was death. In fact the plants

looked more vigorous than they had the year before. Still they

set no seed. But they do have another chance.

Despite skirmishing paintball warriors,

encroachment by alien invasive plants and encirclement by

sterile mown lawns, with adequate maintenance, Big Rock

Parks may take its four orchids into the indefinite future. For

any wildflower enthusiast there is much more to Big Rock Park

than the big rock.


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Bentley: IN REMEMBRANCE OF BOBBYTOLER

355

IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF GEORGEROBERT "BOBBY" TOLER

Roanoke, Virginia

Bobby was an expert "orchid hunter." His

expertise lay not so much in knowledge gained from a

book but from going into the field and experiencing

the plants. He approached the orchids, indeed life, with

an effervescent, childlike enthusiasm. He held a

reverent appreciation for native plants and a completerespect for all people. In the field, while his friends

stood trying to analyze the orchids and impress one

another in a superficial contest of "one-upsmanship"

about our orchid knowledge, Bobby often turned to

more important things. He would quietly assume his

place beside the plant and, with his wonderful

proficiency, unfailingly proceed to record the plant on

film in a way that impressed everyone fortunate

enough to view his photography.

Bobby's contributions to the Blue Ridge

Wildflower Society and the annual Roanoke

Wildflower Pilgrimage are measureless and

responsible in no small part for their success.

Bobby hunted orchids from Newfoundland to


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Alaska, from the Green Swamp of coastal North

Carolina to California, and from the Great Smoky

Mountains to the Bruce Peninsula of Canada. But what

Bobby enjoyed the most was meeting new people and

being with family and friends. His humanity was

uncomplicated and genuine with an abundance of

freely given kindness toward everyone. The phrase,

"He never met a stranger," was epitomized in the

personality of Bobby Toler. His infectious and

perpetual smile was a delight for all of us.

Before their retirement, Bobby and his wife

Frieda operated their own very successful lithography

business. He was a Christian man who had a direction

in life and a serenity that few come to know. From theyoung children in the Sunday School class whom he

taught to his adult acquaintances for whom he set such

a splendid human example, Bobby will be sorely

missed. Surviving are Frieda, a son Wayne and

daughter-in-law Abbe, and a special grandson Paul, all

of Roanoke.

Suddenly, I have lost a best friend. But I shall

never be without the memories of hunting orchids withhim and the absolute joy that Bobby brought to my

life. He has now surely gone on to where it is orchid

season all year long, where there is no end to the

chocolate milk, ice cream and strawberries, and Pepsi

Cola. Those of us who were personally acquainted

with Bobby know that we were blessed with his

presence in our lives. He was the best and someday,


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when the powers that be decide to redefine the word

"friend," there will be no need for a list of exemplary

phrases. Two simple words will suffice:Bobby Toler.

Stan Bentley, 1201 MacGill St., Pulaski, VA 24301

Stan is the author of the eagerly anticipated Native Orchids ofthe Southern Appalachian Mountains to be published by the

University of North Carolina Press in the fall of 2000.


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RECENT TAXONOMIC AND DISTRIBUTIONAL NOTES FROM

FLORIDA 4.

358

RECENT TAXONOMIC AND

DISTRIBUTIONAL NOTES FROM

FLORIDA 4.

Paul Martin Brown

Two NewSpiranthesNothospecies from Florida

Two newSpiranthes nothospecies are described

herein. The first is a perhaps easily overlooked hybrid of

two very common species in the southeastern United

States Spiranthes vernalis and Spiranthes praecox. The

second, very localized and often misidentified, results

from one common parent, Spiranthes praecox, and one

rare and local parent, Spiranthes ovalisvar. ovalis.

Spiranthes xaustralis P.M. Brown nothospecies

nova

TYPE: UNITED STATES; Florida, Flagler County near

Korena on US 1; O. Ames s.n. April 8, 1944 (holotype:

FLAS 42682) Photo. NA Nat. Orchid Journal1999 5(4):

374

Planta inter Spiranthes vernalis et Spiranthes praecox

intermedia et habitu, colore et forma florum, vel

proprietibus speciearum mixtis

ETYMOLOGY: australisafter the southern distribution

of the taxon.


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FLORIDA 4.

359

DISTRIBUTION:

Only specimens from the University of Florida

Herbarium (FLAS) were examined. This taxon will

undoubtedly occur throughout the southeastern UnitedStates and possibly west to Texas.

Additional specimens examined:

FLORIDA:

Bradford County: corolla white; lip with pale green lines,

abundant; moist sandy roadside, west side of FLA 21, 100' S. of

Barnhill's Fishing Camp road, 3 mi. N. of Melrose. E. M. Hodgson

234 14 April 1965 (FLAS 90631)

Citrus County: flowers white; moist semishaded woods, along

Fla 44, east of Inverness, about 1/2 mile west of the

Withlacoochee River L. Baltzell 208926 April 1970

Levy County: flowers greenish white, labellum of a single color,

no stripe, frequent, scattered; sandhill; N. of Fla 24, ca. 2 mi. E of

jct. with Fla. 345, E. of Cedar Key, Cedar Key Scrub Reserve.

D.W. Hall with D. Younker 1720, 29 April 1987 (FLAS 162112)

Madison County: white flowers of two extremes andintermediates, from tubular with lip slightly recurved with green

veins, to more open with strongly curved lip and no green veins;

1.8 mi. N. of Greenville in wet flatwoods along #221 J. Beckner

6862 May 1965 (FLAS 91797)


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Nassau County: Callahan, R.A. Knight s.n. 15 May 1941. (FLAS

88962) This specimen originally part of a mixed collection, with S.

praecox. (collector's note)

Taylor County: corolla white, lip markings pale green; fairlycommon in dry sandy roadside, along US 27/98, 2 mi. west of

Perry. E.M. Hodgson 27717 Apr 1965

Walton County: flowers pure white, lip crenate along margin;

solitary plant; dry woods at edge of dredged pond, N. of Waste

Water Creek, along Road 212, ca. 7 mi. W. of Portland, S31 T1N

R20WD. B. Ward with R.R. Smith & C. Chapman 63379 May 1967

(FLAS 107108)

Notes on the specimens:

All of the specimens cited were previously identified

and/or annotated as either Spiranthes vernalisor S. praecox.

The Beckner collection from Madison County is

especially interesting as it has eight plants on it with two

of them clearly S. xaustralis and the others S. praecox.

Although many of the specimens examined indicate large

numbers of flowering plants present, in reality only a few

would probably byS. xaustralis.

Although both parents are abundant species in the

southeastern United States and frequently occupy the

same habitat, the detection of hybrids has been

surprisingly infrequent. In most locales in Florida

Spiranthes vernalis precedes Spiranthes praecox in anthesis,

but usually there is a short period of overlap in flowering


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361

dates. Although the flowering habit of S. vernalis is

highly variable even from year to year on the same

individualthe floral morphology is consistent. In S.

vernalis the sepals are divergent, the flowers are creamy- white with the lip usually a darker cream to pale

butterscotch and the flowers as well as the rachis are

covered with dense, articulate pointed hairs. This

distinctive pubescence is evident without the aid of a

lens.

Spiranthes praecox, on the other hand, varies in both

its habit and floral morphology. Typical S. praecox is

usually described as having white flowers, with appressedlateral sepals and distinctive raised green veins on the lip.

While this is the most easily recognized of the several

morphs, in Florida plants are more frequently seen with

the flowers entirely green to pale green and lacking in the

distinctive raised green veins on the lip. The 'green

morphs' are found not only in open areas, i.e. fields,

roadsides, etc., but also in shaded woodlands. A form

with pure white flowers, apparently lacking the raised

green veins, also occurs (forma albolabia Brown &

McCartney). Upon careful examination, these pure

white flowers will reveal the pale lemon-yellow veins on

the lip. This third morph is the least common in Florida.

In both Spiranthes vernalisand Spiranthes praecoxthe

floral habit, or arrangement of the flowers, is highly


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362

variable from a slender, nearly secund inflorescence to

the classic single-ranked corkscrew habit to a densely

flowered multiple ranked spike. Cleistogamous flowered

plants have been observed in both species in Florida.Hybrids between Spiranthes vernalis and Spiranthes

praecox have only been observed in the field with the

white-flowered/green veined lip morph ofS. praecox,

although S. vernalis is almost always present with the

other morphs ofS. praecox. Because the position of the

lateral sepals is so diagnostic on both species the hybrids

are very distinct. Plants have been found with S. vernalis

coloration and scattered articulate pointed hairs withappressed sepals or S. praecox-like in coloration with

widely divergent sepals. Usually not more than 1 or 2

individuals of the hybrids have been seen in a given site.

Spiranthes xaustralis may help resolve the

frustration that many orchid enthusiasts have had in the

field when trying to determine of they have found S.

vernalisor S. praecox.

Spiranthes xitchetuckneensis P.M. Brown

nothospecies nova

TYPE: UNITED SATES. Florida: Columbia County,

Itchetucknee Springs State Park, wet clay soil near

Itchetucknee Springs 15 ft. N. of Blue Hole, ca. 4 mi.

N.W. of Fort White, T 6 S, R 15, E.;A. Will s.n. 5 Nov


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FLORIDA 4.

363

1960 (holotype: FLAS 78786 (Photo. NA Nat. Orchid

Journal1999 5(4): 374

Planta inter Spiranthes ovalis et Spiranthes odorata

intermedia et habitu et forma florum, vel proprietibusspeciearum mixtis

ETYMOLOGY: in honor of Itchetucknee River State

Park in north-central Florida.

DISTRIBUTION:

Only specimens from the University of Florida

Herbarium (FLAS) were examined. This taxon may

occur throughout the southeastern United States and

possibly west to Texas.

Additional specimens examined:

Alachua County: Sugarfoot, high hammock,

Gainesville. Watson & Murrill s.n. 11-7-39 (FLAS 25931)

Levy County: Gulf HammockA. P. Garber s.n., October

1877 (FLAS 69862)Sumter County: flowers pure white; infrequent; around

bases of large hardwood trees; dense hammock; rocky

knoll just E. of Withlacoochee River on Fla 48 W. of

Wahoo ca. 8 mi. W. of Bushnell. J. Beckner 160225

October 1966 (FLAS 96958)


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FLORIDA 4.

364

Notes on the specimens examined:

All of the specimens examined were previously

annotated as Spiranthes ovalis, Spiranthes odorata or

Spiranthes cernua, 'small flowered race'.

Paul Catling (DAO) notes on the Garber collection:

"Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich. These plants

represent a distinctive southern and restricted

race ofS. cernuawhich possesses some features

of S. ovalis. With lateral sepals 8.0 mm long,

glandular hairs 0.25 mm and a lip that is

relatively thick and papillate beneath (insteadof smooth) they are clearly S. cernua. P. M.

Catling 1982."

I have been unable to find any Spiranthes cernua s.l. in

Florida in either herbaria vouchers or in the field.

The Beckner collection from Sumter County was

originally identified as Spiranthes ovalis and annotated by

D. Ward as follows:

"Called Spiranthes ovalisby J.B. on the basis of

habitat, small flower size, and all-white color,

but suggestive of S. cernuavar. odorata, which

J.B. says grows nearby; in dense inflorescence

pubescence and attenuate bracts exceeding

ovaries. D. B. Ward Aug 1970.


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FLORIDA 4.

365

The detection of this hybrid presents a taxon that

behaves precisely as one would like a hybrid to appear.

It is intermediate in virtually all aspects between its two

parents. Spiranthes odorata is a common species of richfloodplains, open grasslands and streamsides throughout

the southeastern United States. It is stoloniferous in

nature and therefore is capable of forming large clumps

and often is found growing in flooded areas with the

flowering stems emerging from the water. Spiranthes

ovalisvar. ovalisis a rare to locally common species found

sparingly throughout the southeastern United States,

usually in rich woods and more rarely in floodplains.

Catling (1983) described Spiranthesovalisvar. erostellata, anautogamous variety that ranges throughout the eastern

United States and southwestern Ontario. This variety is

also somewhat rare and local, but much more

widespread. In only four states did Catling show plants

of both varietiesArkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and

Florida.

Of the five known historical and extant sites for

Spiranthes ovalisin Florida three are purely var. ovalis, one

exclusively var. erostellata and one, at Itchetucknee

Springs, has both varieties present. Only at Itchetucknee

Springs does Spiranthes ovalis share its habitat with

Spiranthes odorata. For more than a kilometer along the

floodplain of the river extensive stands of Spiranthes


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odorata occupy the wetter areas near the river's edge.

Back from the shore, closer to the bluffs that separate

the upland forest from the floodplain, can be found

small colonies ofSpiranthesovalisvar. ovalis, and in two ofthese colonies a few plants of var. erostellata. In the

intermediate zone between the S. ovalisand the S. odorata

occur scattered plants of what at first appear to be small-

flowered S. odorata. In fact, the specimen chosen for the

holotype has been annotated as "small-flowered S.

cernua." Although in the past Spiranthesodoratahas been

considered as a variety ofS. cernua, I have been unable to

find any herbarium specimens or extant sites for

Spiranthes cernua in Florida (Brown 1999). Theseintermediate plants are exactly that they are

intermediate in habit, habitat and morphology.

Measurements of ten plants of each taxon reveal that the

hybrids fall exactly between both parents. They are very

easy to identify in the field as they are larger flowered

than S. ovalis but smaller in all aspects than S. odorata.

Leaf shape on both species is similar, but the distinctive

stoloniferous aspect ofS. odoratais lacking in S. ovalis. InS. xitchetuckneensis plants are often clump-forming and

exhibit very short stallions or may occur as individuals.

The plants ofS. xitchetuckneensis are never as tall as S.

odorata and never as slender as S. ovalis. The floral

arrangement is variable from the distinctive three-

ranking of S. ovalis to a densely flowered spike of S.


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odorata. In the primary research area at Itchetucknee

Springs State Park in 1999 87 S. odorata, 29 S. ovalisvar.

ovalis, 3 S. ovalisvar. erostellata and 23 S. xitchetuckneensis

were found.Whether this hybrid occurs other than in Florida

remains to be seen. If populations in the Gulf states are

found that contain both parents, especially if var. ovalisis

present, they should be carefully examined for S.

xitchetuckneensis. Catling (1983) states that var. erostellatais

capable of contributing pollen and therefore could be a

potential pollen parent. The described habitat for var.

erostellata is usually old field margins, dry woods anddisturbed areas so the likelihood of S. odorataoccurring

sympatrically is lessened.

Literature Cited:Brown, P.M. 1999. Recent taxonomic and distributional notes from Florida 1.

North American Native Orchid Journal5(1): 3-15.Catling, P.M. 1983. Spiranthes ovalisvar. erostellata(Orchidaceae) a new autogamousvariety from the eastern United States. Brittonia35(2): 120-1255.

Paul Martin Brown, Research Associate, University of

Florida Herbarium, Florida Museum of Natural History,

Gainesville, [email protected]

The author thanks Sam Cole, Park Biologist at Itchetucknee

Springs State Park, and Mark Latch and Dana Bryan of the Florida

Department of Environmental Protection who assisted in making

the research possible at the park and for permission to name the

taxon for Itchetucknee Spring State Park.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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BOOK REVIEWS: WILD ORCHIDS OF TEXAS

368

Wild Orchids of TexasBy Joe Liggio and Ann Otto LiggioDavid H. Riskind, Scientific AdvisorConnie Herring Hooks Series7 x 9 7/8 in., 240 pp. Color photos, maps $29.95 hardcoverUniversity of Texas Press800-252-3206 www.utexas.edu/utpress ISBN 0-292-74712-8

This long-awaited work on the orchids of Texas hadfinally come forth and in most every way it has satisfied the needfor a detailed work on that state. Texas has five species not foundelsewhere in the United States, and one of the species, Spiranthesparksii, an endemic to Texas. Joe & Ann Orto Liggio'sdescriptions give us full details for all of the 54 species they havedocumented from Texas. Striking full color photos accompanyeach description of all but Spiranthes brevilabris (see below),Hexalectris revoluta, and Deiregyne confusa.The first set of chapters inthe book give a very complete picture of the natural history ofTexas in relation to the geography, orchid habitat and especiallythe response of many orchids to periodic burning.

Each genus and species is covered with a complete naturalhistory of the species and throughout the book sidebars often give

some of the most interesting historical highlight concerningorchid exploration in Texas. County dot maps of Texasaccompany each species description and the full range of thespecies is given.

The only disappointment I found in the book was the lackof keys for identification of the species and an inconsistency in thecitation of common names i.e. Lady's slipper vs. lady's-slipper andlady's-tresses vs. ladies'-tresses. From a taxonomic standpoint a
http://www.utexas.edu/utpresshttp://www.utexas.edu/utpress


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BOOK REVIEWS: WILD ORCHIDS OF TEXAS

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few points should be noted.Malaxis wendtiioccurs only in Texas inthe United States and not in New Mexico and Arizona as stated(there the similar taxon is M. porphyrea). The correct literaturecitation is given for this range and status but the text does notinclude that information. It is most certain that Schiedeella parasitica

does not occur in the United States, although research is not quitecomplete yet to verify whether that taxon should be addressed asS. fauci-sanguineaor described as a new species. Although no faultof the authors, the photo of Spiranthes brevilabrisvar. brevilabris isthat of Spiranthes eatonii which was described in the March 1999issue of this Journal, too late for inclusion in this book. It wouldadd another species to the orchids of Texas. An excellentbibliography is given in the Literature Cited, although the year givenfor Magrath: Sida 13(3):371 is incorrect. It should read 1989 not1939.

I am confident that all native orchid enthusiasts will want a

copy of this informative and essential volume that presents bothan interesting and detailed narrative of the orchids of Texas. PMB


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Plate 1: Brandenberg

Photos by Jim Butler


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Hexalectris revoluta

photos by Ron Coleman

Plate 2 - Coleman: Hexalectris revolutain Arizona


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above:Cypripedium acaule

pink lady's-slipperAnne Wagner

left:Corallorhiza odontorhizaautumn coralrootS. Johnson

Plate 3:Johnson; Wagner


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Plate 4 - Brown: SpiranthesNothospecies in FloridaPlate 4 - Brown: SpiranthesNothospecies in Florida

Spiranthes vernalis S. xaustralis S. praecox

Levy County, Florida P.M. Brown

Spiranthes odorata S. xitchetuckneensis S. ovalis

December 1999 North American Native Orchid Journal

Documents

Transcript of December 1999 North American Native Orchid Journal