Rein Orchid
What are rein orchids? In the scientific world of plant nomenclature, rein orchids are known as either Piperia elegans or Habenaria elegans, although the latter is somewhat more common. However, most of us know this lovely plant as simply rein orchid plant, or sometimes piperia rein orchids. Read on to learn more about them.
rein orchid
Piperia rein orchids are native to the western United States, particularly the Pacific Northwest and California. They are found throughout much of the United States and Canada, as far north as Alaska and as far south as New Mexico.
Rein orchid plants prefer damp ground, sometimes to the point of bogginess. They are found in both open and shady areas, usually in sub-Alpine foothills such as the Columbia River Gorge in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.
Accepted Synonyms: Habenaria odontopetala, Platanthera garberi, Platantheroides herzogiiHabenaria floribunda, commonly known as the Toothed Rein Orchid, is distributed in the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, and is one of the most frequently seen orchids in central and southern Florida. This species produces 5 to 12 glossy bright green leaves that gradually reduce in size towards the inflorescence of 10-60 flowers arranged in a raceme up to 1 m tall. The sepals are green and the petals and lip are a light green. The flowers become more markedly yellow in south Florida. The labellum is lobed and has a spur of 25 mm in length. This orchid is known for its very unpleasant odor and blooms in September up north and in February in its southernmost range in rich, damp hardwood hammocks and thickets.Habenaria floribunda is widely distributed across Central and South America and is apparently secure.
We often tend to associate orchids with lofty rain forest canopies or hothouses maintained by eccentric geniuses. However, many orchids can be found in forests and bogs throughout North America in all but the driest parts of the continent. Most of them are not showy prima donnas but inconspicuous beauties of forests and wetlands that require a little knowledge and searching to notice.
This orchid is a perennial herb with a pair of glossy leathery leaves that emerge in late spring from a thick underground stem (rhizome). Later in summer it sends up a spike of complex, tiny flowers that mature into capsules full of tiny seeds in late summer. It has the curious habit of being able to go dormant for more than a year at a time, waiting out years when growing conditions are less than ideal.
If you chance on one of these plants in the wild, please do not try to move them. Even if collecting and transplanting is permitted by the landowner or agency, these orchids have an obligatory relationship with fungi in the soil. Orchid seeds are the smallest in the plant kingdom.
Accepted Synonym: Piperia candidaPlatanthera ephemerantha, commonly known as White Flower Rein Orchid, is confined to western North America, from southeast Alaska to northern California. It grows in coniferous and mixed forests or chaparral usually within 150 km of the coast. This orchid grows up to 60 cm, generally with less than 6 stem bracts and basal leaves that often wilt during flowering. The spike has up to 100 small, faintly fragrant white flowers. Although the petals are straight, the lateral sepals are bent downward and twisted. The labellum is curved backward with a short, tapered nectar spur. The white, ephemeral flowers distinguish this orchid from Platanthera unalascensis which has pale green flowers.Platanthera ephemerantha is considered vulnerable and is threatened by development and lumbering in North America.
These plants are known as rein orchids. They are native to western North America, especially California and the Pacific Northwest. This former genus has the following characteristics: (a) a bisexual perennial nongreen plant that grows from buried tubers; fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds; (c) pollen that is sticky, and which is removed as sessile anther sacs; and (d) stigma fused with its style into a column. There were a total of ten species in the genus Piperia, which is named for American botanist Charles V. Piper. The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or racemes.
The subsurface architecture of these terrestrial wild orchids consists of a rhizome structure, from which emanate tubers. The rhizome extracts nutrients from fungal intermediates and may also store some of these nutrients. A basal rosette of leaves develops from the tuber at the surface of the soil, each of the two or three leaves being lanceolate in shape.[2] Each leaf ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters in length and 20 to 35 millimeters in width. Leaves of younger plants are often more diminutive in size.
Peter's photos, I believe, are not from a "Cedar Bog" in Anoka County. Most likely, they are from a rich fen dominated by several sedges and bog birch, but no white cedar or anything that could be easily confused with a cedar. Also, photo 2's caption is more accurately described as "tuberceled rein orchid co-existing with glossy buckthorn" which is the case at Pioneer Park, where the picture is most likely from. Also, the USDA's county distribution map for this species, oddly enough, does not include Anoka County, which is currently the epi-center for this species' distribution in the state of Minnesota. Regards, Jason Husveth
Pale green orchid is a native wildflower in the Orchidaceae (orchid) family found in eastern and central North America. In North Carolina, it is found scattered throughout the state in wet areas such as floodplain forests, hardwood, white-cedar, and cypress swamps, riparian thickets, and wet meadows. There are two varieties of this orchid, one found in the north and one in the southern part of its range.
In 2012, CCES was retained by the Minnesota DNR to complete field surveys for the state-threatened species, Platanthera flava var. herbiola (tubercled rein orchid). Survey efforts were focused on the Anoka Sand Plain, where the orchid species is known to occur. The Anoka Sand Plain is an ecological subsection in central Minnesota and is about one million acres in size. The Anoka Sand Plain is dominated by fine, sandy soils and is known for its ability to support a variety of rare species.
Using knowledge obtained from more than fifteen years of survey work focused on the Anoka Sand Plain, CCES designed survey methods for this project which would help target specific land area within the Anoka Sand Plain with a high potential to support tubercled rein orchids. Using a GIS-based model, CCES melded data layers including soils information, hydrology, geology, land cover, and known rare species occurrences to determine where to best perform field surveys. Using this narrowed search area, CCES began field surveys during July of 2012.
Survey work occurred on both public and private lands where landowners approved access. The intensive survey work lasted through the 2012 growing season and had remarkable results. In a single field season, CCES ecologists detected 23 new populations of tubercled rein orchid. To put this in perspective, between 1892 and the start of the 2012 field season (120 years), only 36 populations of tubercled rein orchid had been documented in the state of Minnesota. In 2012, CCES almost doubled the number of recorded detections in the State. With this increase in finds, so much more is now known about this rare orchid species especially in regard to its habitat requirements, associated species, and its phenology.
In addition to field survey work, CCES also created database information for each population of tubercled rein orchid detected as well as specimen collections and highly detailed herbarium labels as necessary documentation. This information was provide to the client, the Minnesota DNR. CCES has also given several presentations and led a number of field trips in an effort to share the scientific results of this project, furthering the understanding and conservation of the tubercled rein orchid in Minnesota.
Piperia is a genus of the orchid family Orchidaceae. These plants are known as rein orchids. They are native to western North America, especially California and the Pacific Northwest. This genus has the following characteristics: (a) a bisexual perennial nongreen plant that grows from buried tubers; fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds; (c) pollen that is sticky, and which is removed as sessile anthersacs; and (d) stigma fused with its style into a column. There are a total of ten species in the genus Piperia, which is named for American botanist Charles V. Piper. The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or racemes.
The royal rein orchid (Piperia transversa) is a beautiful perennial herb that is native to western North America. It is distinguished by long spurs on the back of each flower, which are relatively straight and nearly perpendicular to the stem (in other Piperia species, the spurs curve downward almost parallel with the stem). Additional common names include flat-spurred piperia and mountain piperia.Royal rein orchid (Piperia transversa). Focus-stacked for increased depth of field. Pioneer, Amador County, California, USA.PLA0646Royal rein orchid (Piperia transversa), highly-detailed close-up of an individual flower in bloom. Focus-stacked for increased depth of field. Pioneer, Amador County, California, USA.PLA0645Royal rein orchid (Piperia transversa), documentary view of the entire plant towering over the surrounding foliage. Pioneer, Amador County, California, USA.PLA0644Next Plant: Sierra bog orchid (Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys)Interested in buying a print or licensing a picture? Click on the purchasing link for more information or contact us with any questions you may have. Thanks for looking!Back To Top 041b061a72