Spiranthes perexilis, the languid ladies’-tresses, is a species of orchid native to California and Oregon.[1]

languid ladies’-tresses
Inflorescence
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Tribe: Cranichideae
Genus: Spiranthes
Species:
S. perexilis
Binomial name
Spiranthes perexilis
(Sheviak) M.C.Pace

Description

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Spiranthes perexilis plants are closely related to Spiranthes romanzoffiana and similar in appearance, but "gracile and open-spiralled, with narrow subpandurate labella". Spiranthes porrifolia plants also look similar.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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Spiranthes perexilis has been found in California and Oregon.[2][3]

It grows in fens and wet meadows, often along the edge of the fen area and the slightly higher area around it. Within the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range it grows in similar habitat to Spiranthes porrifolia and Spiranthes romanzoffiana.[2]

Taxonomy

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Spiranthes perexilis plants were first described by Paul Martin Brown in 2008 as Spiranthes stellata but apparently contained a mix of species in the holotype sheet used to describe the new species. C. J. Sheviak first described the plants now accepted as Spiranthes perexilis as a subspecies called Spiranthes stellata subsp. perexilis in 2012 and M. C. Pace elevated them to species status in 2019.[2][4]

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Paul Martin (15 July 2020). "Additions and corrections to the Wild Orchids of North America, North of Mexico. II". Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. 14 (1): 13–26. doi:10.17348/jbrit.v14.i1.893. S2CID 225640979.
  2. ^ a b c d Pace, Matthew C.; Cameron, Kenneth M. (April 2019). "The evolutionary and systematic significance of hybridization between taxa of Spiranthes (Orchidaceae) in the California Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range". Taxon. 68 (2): 199–207. doi:10.1002/tax.12034. S2CID 190872991.
  3. ^ "Spiranthes perexilis". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Spiranthes perexilis". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries; Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 22 February 2022.

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