SLENDER LADY'S TRESSES
File Size: 33 KB
 
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.
 See also Spring lady's tresses and Lady's tresses

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