Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Triphora trianthophoros var. trianthophoros
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy reading Orchids of the Francis Marion National Forest by Jim Fowler.
Funny thing about this particular orchid species: It blooms only after a few, rather specific meteorological conditions have been met, and then for only a few hours that day. Read more at Jim Fowler's blog: "Triphora trianthophora (Three-birds orchid) — Pisgah National Forest" (August 2014).
The leaves are unusual for orchids, being about 1/2-inch long, heart-shaped but clasping, and a handful scattered along the stem. Learn more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Read more and see some beautiful photographs on Jim Fowler's blog: "Orchids in Transylvania County, North Carolina" (August 2013)
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Triphora trianthophora
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Triphora trianthophoros
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT) Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Triphora trianthophora ssp. trianthophora
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-05-001:
Triphora trianthophora FAMILY Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN & ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triphora trianthophora
COMMON NAME:
Three Birds Orchid, Nodding Pogonia, Nodding Ettercap
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_trtr3_001_lvd
)
Jim Fowler jaftriphora_pinkgroup2
August NC
Pisgah National Forest
Tiny half-inch flowers at apex of a succulent green to reddish-green stem, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jaftriphora_pinkgroup6
August NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Jim Fowler jaftriphora_white1
August NC
Pisgah National Forest
Petals and sepals may be pure white or white tipped with pink or purple, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Triphora trianthophoros var. trianthophoros
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Triphora trianthophora
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Triphora trianthophoros
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT)
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Triphora trianthophora ssp. trianthophora
INCLUDED WITHIN (ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-05-001:
Triphora trianthophora
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN & ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIANT
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triphora trianthophora
1911
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Humid forests and swamps, rhododendron thickets, especially on rotten logs or on humus, in the mountains often under hemlock, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White/ Pink
(veined with purple & green)
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p124
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p040
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p415
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p074
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p050
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p224
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p408
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p023
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".