Native & Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas & Georgia

Search by scientific name

OR search by...

2153

Forb
Perennial

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Documented growing wild in GA NC SC

Rare, endemic to the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Look for it in wet savannas, per Weakley's Flora

map
To see a detailed map, click here

 

...Wet

LEAVES:
Simple
Basal (when present)

FLOWER:
Fall
White
Bisexual
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

FRUIT:
Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
 Spiranthes longilabris   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
 Spiranthes longilabris   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (1968) 049-12-005:
 Spiranthes longilabris   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933)
 Ibidium longilabre

 

COMMON NAME:
 Long-lipped Ladies'-tresses, Giant Spiral Orchid

Click or hover over the thumbnails to see larger pictures.

image of Spiranthes longilabris, Long-lipped Ladies'-tresses, Giant Spiral Orchid

Jim Fowler    jafslongilabris_4

October    Brunswick County    NC

Green Swamp

These flowers are arranged in a tight single rank or are sometimes secund, per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History.

image of Spiranthes longilabris, Long-lipped Ladies'-tresses, Giant Spiral Orchid

Keith Bradley    kab_s_longilabris_5088

December    Lee County    FL

Wild Turkey Strand Preserve