NameThatPlant.net: Malaxis spicata

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

WEAKLEY'S FLORA (5/21/15):
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae NEW! Click to go to FSUS key

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

You may enjoy reading Orchids of the Francis Marion National Forest by Jim Fowler.

Learn more about Florida Adder's-mouth Orchid from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Malaxis spicata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-14-001:
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Malaxis spicata

COMMON NAME:
Florida Adder's-mouth Orchid

To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Malaxis spicata, Florida Adder's-mouth Orchid

Jim Fowler jafmspicata_3

September Berkeley County SC

Francis Marion National Forest

Similar in appearance and distribution to M. unifolia, but with 2-3 leaves, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers.

COMPARE Adder's Mouth and Adder's Tongue

Jim Fowler jafmspicata_close

September Berkeley County SC

Francis Marion National Forest

Plants bloom in Florida Aug-Feb; in Virginia June-Aug; in Pennsylvania in Sept, per Flora of North America.

WEAKLEY'S FLORA (5/21/15):
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Malaxis spicata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-14-001:
Malaxis spicata FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Malaxis spicata

2142

Forb
Perennial

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Documented growing wild in GA NC SC

Rare

Habitat: Maritime swamp forests, calcareous but mucky swamps in the outer Coastal Plain, spring-fed swamps, wet hammocks, per Weakley's Flora

map
NEW! Click here to see a range map (and maybe identification notes) from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Simple
Two stem leaves (rarely up to 5), subopposite

FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellowish-orange/ Brownish/ Green
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

Flowers in a terminal raceme

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

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