Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Slender lady's tresses

SLENDER LADY'S TRESSES

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Spiranthes lacera (Raf. ) Raf. var. gracilis (Bigel. ) Luer

Cherokee County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 6-24 inches

Family: Orchidaceae - Orchid Family

Flowering Period: August, September,October

Also Called:

Slender ladies'-tresses.

Stems:

Erect, slender, glabrous.

Leaves:

Basal, 2-5, often absent at flowering; short-stalked; ovate to elliptic, .6 to 2.5 inch long, .4 to 1 inch wide; tips pointed.

Inflorescences:

Spike, 1.2 to 6 inches long; flowers evenly spaced in single tight or loose spiral.

Flowers:

Floral bracts ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long, 1/25 to 1/8 inch wide; tips pointed to tapering-pointed; perianth narrow, tubular in appearance, 1/6 to 1/4 inch long; sepals 3, petal-like, oblong lanceolate to lanceolate, white; petals 3, linear, white; lip white with green center, tip irregularly cleft.

Fruits:

Capsule, erect, ellipsoid to ovoid, 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, 1/12 to 1/6 inch wide; seeds numerous, tiny.

Habitat:

Open, dry or rocky deciduous woods, dry to moist meadows and prairies, roadsides, old fields; sandstone, chert, or igneous soils.

Distribution:

East 1/2 of Kansas

Origin:

Native

Uses:

Native Americans used the root as a charm to bring good luck when hunting.

Comments:

Latin lacera "lacerated" or "irregularly torn", alluding to the margin of the perianth lip.