| Louis.Hight/Epipactis gigantea | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Genus: | Epipactis |
| Species: | E. gigantea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Epipactis gigantea | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Epipactis gigantea is a large orchid[2] and the only member of the genus Epipactis that is native to North America.[3] It grows in a range from British Columbia to central Mexico and from the the west coast of the United States to as far east as Texas.[1] It is known by the common names chatterbox, false lady's slipper, giant helleborine, and stream orchid.[2]
Description
editEpipactis gigantea is a large, glabrous, rhizomatous orchid that grows between 20 centimeters and one meter in height.[2] Epipactis gigantea is seasonal, flowering between March and June,[2] and it relies on insects and mycorrhizal fungi for reproduction.[4]
Leaves
editIt has alternating, oval or spear-shaped leaves that are largest near the base of the plant and become smaller towards the tip of the plant. They range in color from green[2] to deep red in populations found in California and Canada.[5][6] [7] A variety E. epipactis with burgundy foliage is found in California and has been called forma rubrifolia.[8][6]
Flowers
editBetween 4 and 18 flowers are distributed over the upper third of the plant.[2] Flowers are sessile with gradient colored petals in various shades of pink[2] to red or burgundy[7] with green tips and dark veining on the petals.[2] The dorsal petal forms a labellum with yellow striations or other markings.[2] The apex of the labellum is cupped and vibrates when perturbed.[2][4]The three sepals are oval and spear-shaped, slightly cupped, and are mostly green with some pigmentation similar to that of the petals.[2] The sepals also have veining that is darker than the surrounding tissues.[2][6][7] Single flowers grow on bracts.[2]
Roots
editA few fibrous roots extend from rhizomes.[2]
Distribution
editEpipactis gigantea is native to North America and has been documented growing in British Columbia, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and northern Mexico.[2][4] Populations occur sporadically throughout this range near water.[4]
Habitat
edit
Epipactis gigantea requires moisture[2][5] and is found in riparian habitats, along streams, seepage wetlands, and in hanging garden habitats.[2][7][4] E. gigantea grows at elevations from sea level to 2600 meters.[2] This orchid is frequently found growing in the shade of trees and other plants, but it can also grow in full sun in northern habitats.[2][7][4]
E. gigantea is often found in plant communities growing among sedge of the genus Carex, and there is evidence that thick sedge growth prevents herbivory of the orchid.[9]
Ecology
edit.jpg)
Pollination
editE. gigantea attracts syrphid flies by releasing an aroma mimicking the honeydew of aphids from which the fly larvae feed.[2] The flies pollinate the orchids by moving between plants as they lay their eggs on the flowers.[2]
Mycorrhizal Associations
editAfter the seeds of E. gigantea are fertilized and dispersed, they require mycorrhizal fungi to obtain nutrients and germinate.[4] In addition to requiring mycorrhizal fungi to germinate, adult E. gigantea orchids have been found to associate with fungi of the genus Rhizoctonia which absorb carbon from the orchid and may contribute nitrogen.[3]
Cultivation
editEpipactis gigantea, is cultivated as an ornamental plant. The burgundy colored variety found in Sonoma County, California is referred to as Serpentine Night in the horticultural trade.[6]
-
E gigantea clump in moist meadow -
Cultivar Serpentine Night -
Stream orchid seedheads -
E gigantea flower closeup
Conservation
editEpipactis gigantea is a rare plant in many parts of its range such as in New Mexico,[2] but it is listed as apparently secure by Nature Serve as of 2016.[10] However, Nature Serve evaluated it as vulnerable, imperiled, and critically imperiled in several states in the United States.[10] Information about the status of E. gigantea is limited, and further evaluation of occurrences, habitat sensitivity, and genetic diversity would be helpful in determining its vulnerability.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Coleman, Ronald A. (2002). The Wild Orchids of Arizona and New Mexico. Ithacan New York, the United States of American and London, the United Kingdom: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. pp. 70–74. ISBN 0-8014-3950-7.
- ^ a b Schiebold, Julienne M.-I.; Bidartondo, Martin I.; Karasch, Peter; Gravendeel, Barbara; Gebauer, Gerhard. "You are what you get from your fungi: nitrogen stable isotope patterns in Epipactis species". Annals of Botany. 119 (7): 1085–1095. doi:10.1093/aob/mcw265. ISSN 0305-7364. PMC 5604585. PMID 28334113.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Rocchio, J., M. March, and D.G. Anderson (March 20, 2006). Epipactis gigantea Dougl. ex Hook.(stream orchid): A Technical Conservation Assessment (PDF). Fort Collins, Colorado. pp. 3–42.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Coleman, Ronald A. (1995). The Wild Orchids of California. Comstock Pub. Associates. ISBN 978-0-8014-3012-1.
- ^ a b c d "Stream Orchid, Epipactis gigantea". calscape.org. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ^ a b c d e Canada, Environment and Climate Change (2016-08-15). "Giant helleborine (Epipactis gigantea): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2015". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
- ^ "SEINet Portal Network - Epipactis gigantea". swbiodiversity.org. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ Levine, Jonathan M. "COMPLEX INTERACTIONS IN A STREAMSIDE PLANT COMMUNITY". Ecology. 81 (12): 3431–3444. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[3431:CIIASP]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0012-9658.
- ^ a b "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
External links
edit- Las Pilitas Nursery, Epipactis gigantea, Stream Orchid and Giant helleborine
- Ecology: Epipactis gigantea
- Epipactis gigantea - Photo gallery
- Washington Native Orchid Society, Epipactis gigantea or Stream Orchid
- Colorado State University, Epipactis gigantea Dougl. ex Hook. (stream orchid): A Technical Conservation Assessment
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas @ Austin, Epipactis gigantea
- Rare Plants United Kingdom, Epipactis gigantea
- Dave's Garden, PlantFiles: Species Orchid, Giant Helleborine, Giant Stream Orchid, Epipactis, Epipactis gigantea
- Southwestern Colorado Wildflowers, Epipactis gigantea
- E-flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia
- C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010. Epipactis gigantea - Encyclopedia of Life
- Jepson Manual Treatment - Epipactis gigantea
 | This is the sandbox page where you will draft your initial Wikipedia contribution.
If you're starting a new article, you can develop it here until it's ready to go live. If you're working on improvements to an existing article, copy only one section at a time of the article to this sandbox to work on, and be sure to use an edit summary linking to the article you copied from. Do not copy over the entire article. You can find additional instructions here. Remember to save your work regularly using the "Publish page" button. (It just means 'save'; it will still be in the sandbox.) You can add bold formatting to your additions to differentiate them from existing content. |