15 cm ruler for scale

Stem leaves in above photo

 
Basal leaf in above photo

Slender, erect orchid with white flowers in a spike arranged in a single spiral down the stem. Flowers have a wavy lower lip, and have a distinctive green throat. We measured flowers at 5 mm long and 4 mm diameter. Flowers with a faint scent. Leaves mostly in a basal rosette, oblong to ovate, with or without petioles. We observed a few plants with linear stem leaves, we measured a stem leaf at 15 mm long and 1 mm wide. Stems either glabrous or with a few hairs. Top of leaves with a few short hairs, bottom of leaves glabrous.

Habitat is sandy Jack Pine woods. Rare, listed as an S2S3 by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.

Height listed in Budd's Flora to 40 cm. We measured plants to 28 cm tall.

This orchid might be mistaken for 2 other white-flowered orchids which bloom at the same time.

• Spiranthes romanzoffiana has flowers in denser spike forming multiple spirals down the stem, basal leaves that are linear lanceolate, and flowers without a green throat.
  
• Goodyera repens has mottled basal leaves, and flowers in a dense spike, flowers without a wavy lower lip, and without a green throat.

Photos taken August 7th and 8th, open sandy Jack Pine forest, two locations in Hudson Bay district, both about 450 km northeast of our home in Regina, SK.

Thank you to Dave and Alice from Hudson Bay for locating these plants for us to photograph.

[ Home ]