NameThatPlant.net: Spiranthes eatonii

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

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes eatonii FAMILY Orchidaceae Go to FSUS key

Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Learn more about Spiranthes from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

Apparently previously confused with S. lacera, S. floridana, S. brevilabris, and S. tuberosa, but distinctive in the combination of spring blooming season, white flowers, and basal, narrowly oblanceolate leaves (Brown 1999), per Weakley's Flora (2022)

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes eatonii FAMILY Orchidaceae

COMMON NAME:
Eaton's Ladies'-tresses

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Spiranthes eatonii FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Spiranthes eatonii FAMILY Orchidaceae

2149

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: pine savannas, dry to moist pine flatwoods, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon in Carolinas, rare in GA

CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal

FLOWER:
Spring
White (with green spot)
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
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Spring
Capsule

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

If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".

Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".