NC Spiranthes ID?

[JonnyBravo]

Last week I went to a family reunion in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was a complete blast, and I got to explore some really cool ecosystems that I had never experienced before. My favorite was the salt marsh where we found, caught, and photoed some of the Carolina subspecies of Diamondback Terrapins! Definitely worth the clouds of vicious biting insects!

Not expecting to find any orchids, I didn't bring my field guide for ID purposes, and then wished I had. I took my bike out to sweat out the after-effects of our family's "Mojito Night", and came across THOUSANDS of little Spiranthes growing in the ditches along the road from Avon to Chicamacomico (which has to be the coolest locale name in the world). When I returned from my ride, I found them growing in the yard at our rental property... and every house on the block... and every business with grass out front... Essentially, they were everywhere.

Sorry, no pics, but I was wondering if anyone could take a stab at a species ID. Flower stalks were 8-12" tall, little white flowers covering 2-5" of the stalk. I looked in my field guide when I got home, but the Spiranthes all looked pretty much the same to me. Was hoping someone might know based on geographic location.

[prem]

The greatest likelihood is Spiranthes vernalis, just going by habitat description...these can grow equally happily in wet and quite dry areas, as opposed to some of the other similar species that like either wet feet or dry feet only.

They are long since finished blooming in Florida, but that's typical...spring blooming species tend to bloom much sooner in Florida, while fall blooming species will tend to bloom much later.

A further question that might help with ID: did the lips have prominent green veins on them? If not, did older (lower) flowers on the stalk have a tendency to get two brownish spots on the lip? If the former, then it would be Spiranthes praecox (it is a wet-foot orchid that is less likely your candidate). If the latter, then it is definitely S. vernalis.

---Prem

[Royal]

Killer description, Prem.

Johnny, I'm jealous. Don't you know you should never leave home without your camera!

[JonnyBravo]

i looked up both, pretty sure you were spot-on with vernalis. did not note any green veins on the lip.

but, as i mentioned, i was doing my best to sweat out the toxic effects of Mojito Night-- my skills of observation were nearly nil, and i wouldn't have begun to think of bringing a camera. heck, i forgot to bring WATER, which i realized about 8.2 miles into the ride. i was lucky just to look down and be able to realize, "OOH! Hey look, orchids!" i love me some orchids, but i am nearly as passionate about rum, lime, and muddled mint.