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 Edit this 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

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Spiranthes 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

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Spiranthes 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

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Spiranthes torta was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1791 (as Ophrys torta).[4]

References

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  Media related to Spiranthes torta at Wikimedia Commons

  1. ^ "Spiranthes torta". North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOOC), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Spiranthes torta". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Spiranthes torta". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.