Spiranthes magnicamporum

SIMILAR SPECIES: All members of the genus Spiranthes in Ohio are similar and are distinguished by floral characters. S. magnicamporum is most similar to S. cernua and is best distinguished from it by the absence of leaves during anthesis, its thick, tuberous roots, and the shape of the lip. It blooms rather later than other Ohio Spiranthes.

TOTAL RANGE: S. Ont., OH, IN, IL, IA, MN, ND, SD, NE, MO, KS, OK, TX; and local in UT, CO, NM, LA, and AL.

STATE RANGE: There are post-1960 records from Adams, Erie, Ottawa, Seneca, Summit, and Wood counties; however, the population from Seneca County is no longer extant. There are pre-1960 records from Clark, Franklin, Lucas, and Ross counties.

STATE STATUS: 1980-1987: Threatened, 1988 to present: Potentially Threatened.

HABITAT: Primarily calcareous soils in grassy fields, dry prairies, and limestone quarry floors.

HAZARDS: Trampling and compaction of soil; overshading by woody species as a result of succession.

RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Unknown, but tolerant of moderate disturbance.

INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Collect complete flowering material with underground parts; avoid over-collecting.

COMMENTS: This taxon has been recently segregated from the Spiranthes cernua complex (Sheviak, 1973) and all old records should be checked for proper identification. This species is probably more frequent in western Ohio than the records indicate. It may have been overlooked due to its late blooming period.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

Argus, G.W. and D.J. White. 1982. Atlas of the rare vascular plants of Ontario: Part 1. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. n.p.

Case, F.W., Jr. and P.M. Catling. 1983. The genus Spiranthes in Michigan. Mich. Bot. 22: 79-92.

Homoya, M.A. 1993. Orchids of Indiana. Indiana Univ. Press, Bloomington. 275 pp.

Luer, C.A. 1975. The native orchids of the United States and Canada excluding Florida. New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY. 361 p.

Sheviak, C.J. 1973. A new Spiranthes from the grasslands of central America. Bot. Mus. Leafl. 23: 285-297.

Sheviak, C.J. 1974. An introduction to the ecology of the Illinois Orchidaceae. Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL. 90 p.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Created: 11/1983 Barbara K. Andreas

Database Code: SPGY.V12