Spiranthes torta, the Southern ladies’ tresses, is a terrestrial orchid native to Florida, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands and Bermuda.[1]
| Southern ladies tresses | |
|---|---|
| |
| Inflorescence | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Spiranthes |
| Species: | S. torta
|
| Binomial name | |
| Spiranthes torta (Thunb.) Garay & H.R.Sweet
| |
| |
| distribution range, from GBIF | |
Description
editSpiranthes torta plants are 7–50 cm tall and have 2-3 basal leaves which wither before they bloom. There is also several leaves along the stem which are reduced to bracts. Flowers are arranged in a spiral along the stem. They are white, with a green inside of the labellum. Bloom time is May to June.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editSpiranthes torta can be found in the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Florida, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, the Gulf of Mexico, southeastern Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago and the Windward Islands.[3] It prefers dry habitat, usually growing in pine forest.[2]
Taxonomy
editSpiranthes torta was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1791 (as Ophrys torta).[4]
References
edit
Media related to Spiranthes torta at Wikimedia Commons
- ^ "Spiranthes torta". North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOOC), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ a b Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). "Spiranthes torta". Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ "Spiranthes torta". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Spiranthes torta". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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