Spiranthes cernua

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:ORCHIDACEAE
Species:Spiranthes cernua (L.) Rich.
Common Name:Nodding Ladies' Tresses
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:SPCE
Plant Notes:Nodding Ladies' Tresses is a native perennial wildflower in the Orchid family (Orchidaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Nodding Ladies' Tresses occurs in bogs, on pond and stream banks, in wet ditches, and in low meadows and lawns. Nodding Ladies' Tresses produces a basal rosette of three to eight strap shaped leaves. These wither before the flowering stems are produced in late summer or autumn. The flowering stems grow from three to twelve inches in height. The flowering stalk is pubescent with short hairs and stalked glands. The small white flowers are produced in spirals on the flowering stalk. The flowers nod downwards. At the base of each flower is a large green bract. Nodding Ladies' Tresses is a polyploid—having more than the normal two pairs of each chromosomes (diploid). Gene flow from the diploid species Spiranthes magnicamporum, Spiranthes ochroleuca, and Spiranthes odorata have created a wide range of forms that reproduce through asexual means in which the embryo develops from an unfertilized egg. Nodding Ladies' Tresses is also colonial from plantlets that develop from the roots. It almost always occurs in large clones. Nodding Ladies' Tresses is sometimes available as plants from orchid or wildflower nurseries. It is one of the easier native orchid species to cultivate. It grows best in full or partial sun in wet sandy or organic soil. It can also be grown in bog gardens with carnivorous plants, and in pots or terrariums.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyORCHIDACEAE - Orchid family
Genus Spiranthes
Species Spiranthes cernua (L.) Rich. - Nodding Ladies' Tresses

Citation

Citation Spiranthes cernua (Linnaeus) Richard, De Orchid. Eur. 37. 1817.
Basionym: Ophrys cernua L. 1753.
Type: CANADA: Without data, Kalm s.n. (lectotype: LINN 1056.9). Lectotypified by Sheviak, in Cafferty & C.E. Jarvis, Taxon 45: 48. 1999.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Gyrostachys cernua Gyrostachys cernua (Linnaeus) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 664. 1891.Ophrys cernua Linnaeus 1753. 
Ibidium incurvum Ibidium incurvum Jennings, Ann. Carnegie Mus. 3: 483, t. 20. 1906. PENNSYLVANIA: Erie Co.: Around lagoons in E part of Presque Isle, 26 Aug 1905, Jennings 18 (holotype: CM; isotypes: NY, NYS).
Ibidium cernuum Ibidium cernuum (Linnaeus) House, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 32: 381. 1905.Ophrys cernua Linnaeus 1753. 
Limodorum autumnale Limodorum autumnale Walter, Fl. Carol. 221. 1788. SOUTH CAROLINA: Without data, Walter Herb. 722 (lectotype: BM). Lectotypified by Sheviak, New York State Mus. Bull. 448: 21. 1982.
Neottia cernua Neottia cernua (Linnaeus) Swartz, Kongl. Vetensk. Acad. Nya Handl. 21: 226. 1800.Ophrys cernua Linnaeus 1753. 
Neottia cernua var. major Neottia cernua (Linnaeus) Swartz, var. major Eaton, Man. Bot., ed. 5. 303. 1829.  
Ophrys cernua Ophrys cernua Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 946. 1753. CANADA: Without data, Kalm s.n. (lectotype: LINN 1056.9). Lectotypified by Sheviak, in Cafferty & C. E. Jarvis, Taxon 45: 48. 1999.
Spiranthes petiolaris Spiranthes petiolaris Rafinesque, Herb. Raf. 45. 1833. ILLINOIS
Triorchis cernua Triorchis cernua (Linnaeus) Nieuwland, Amer. Midl. Naturalist 3: 122. 1913.Ophrys cernua Linnaeus 1753. 

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Cleburne, Colbert, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Hale, Jackson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Madison, Marengo, Marshall, Montgomery, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, JSU, TROY, UNA, UNAF, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1873 - 1995

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AUA_ACC_44570 Autauga 25 Oct 1975 WILLIS, STEPHEN F.
162		 AUA
SPIRANTHES CERNUA (L.) L. C. RICH.
TROY000050248 Autauga 06 Nov 2020 Parker, Matthew R.
1914		 TROY
Spiranthes cernua (Linnaeus) Richard
UNA00008615 Baldwin 04 Nov 1883 Mohr, Charles
s.n.		 UNA
Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich.
UNA00008660 Baldwin 04 Oct 1886 Mohr, Charles
s.n.		 UNA
Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich.
UWAL0043762 Baldwin 30 Oct 2001 Larsen, Harry S.
785		 UWAL
Spiranthes cernua (L.) Rich.
UNA00050517 Bibb 02 Oct 1995 Birk, Michelle
579		 UNA
Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich.
UNA00055905 Bibb 14 Oct 1999 Burckhalter, Robert
2810		 UNA
Spiranthes cernua (L.) L.C. Rich.
AMAL00019305 Calhoun 30 Oct 1993 Spaulding, Daniel D.
4951		 AMAL
Spiranthes cernua (L.) L. C. Rich.
JSU113595 Calhoun 6 Oct 2000 Spaulding, Daniel D.
10966		 JSU
Spiranthes cernua (Linnaeus) Richard
AMAL00021470 Calhoun 01 Oct 2014 Spaulding, Daniel D.
14187		 AMAL
Spiranthes cernua (Linnaeus) Richard
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