Conservation Assessment for White Adder’s Mouth Orchid (Malaxis B Brachypoda) (A. Gray) Fernald Photo: Kenneth J. Sytsma USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region April 2003 Jan Schultz 2727 N Lincoln Road Escanaba, MI 49829 906-786-4062 This Conservation Assessment was prepared to compile the published and unpublished information on Malaxis brachypoda (A. Gray) Fernald. This is an administrative study only and does not represent a management decision or direction by the U.S. Forest Service. Though the best scientific information available was gathered and reported in preparation for this document and subsequently reviewed by subject experts, it is expected that new information will arise. In the spirit of continuous learning and adaptive management, if the reader has information that will assist in conserving the subject taxon, please contact: Eastern Region, USDA Forest Service, Threatened and Endangered Species Program, 310 Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. Conservation Assessment for White Adder’s Mouth Orchid (Malaxis Brachypoda) (A. Gray) Fernald 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..............................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................3 NOMENCLATURE and TAXONOMY..........................................................................................4 DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES..........................................................................................................4 LIFE HISTORY ...............................................................................................................................6 HABITAT AND ECOLOGY...........................................................................................................9 DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE ........................................................................................19 PROTECTED STATUS.................................................................................................................25 THREATS AND POTENTIAL THREATS...................................................................................28 POPULATION BIOLOGY AND VIABILITY .............................................................................31 POPULATION VIABILITY..........................................................................................................32 RESEARCH AND MONITORING...............................................................................................33 LITERATURE CITED...................................................................................................................34 TABLES .........................................................................................................................................42 APPENDICES................................................................................................................................48 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Outside Reviewers We would like to thank our academic reviewers and agency reviewers outside of the United States Forest Service for their helpful comments on this manuscript. Fred W. Case, botanist, author of Orchids of the Western Great Lakes Region. National Forest Reviewers We also thank our internal National Forest reviewers for their suggestions and corrections and for providing element occurrences from the respective National Forests. Jan Schultz (Hiawatha), Alix Cleveland (Huron-Manistee), Steven Spickerman and Steve Janke (Chequamegon-Nicolet) and Ian Shackleford (Chippewa / Ottawa). Herbarium and Heritage Data We appreciate the sharing of occurrence information for this species from Heritage personnel both in the United States and Canada, along with the helpful assistance from Herbarium personnel. (See Appendix C, Contacts, for a complete list). Editorial Committee We thank Jan Schultz, Hiawatha National Forest, for her suggestions and patience through numerous revisions. Also appreciated was the editorial assistance of the following contract employees working with the Hiawatha National Forest: Beverly Braden, contract botanist; Janet Marr, seasonal botanist; and Elizabeth Nauertz, Ecologist, North Central Research Station. Literature Search We thank Laura Hutchinson, North Central Research Station Library Services, for performing initial species inquires and sending us relevant research articles. We thank Jan Schultz, Hiawatha National Forest, for use of her extensive library of materials to begin to compile information on this species. We also thank Janet Marr, contract botanist, for additional literature searches at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Initial Draft We are grateful to Janet Marr, seasonal/contract botanist on the Hiawatha, for her efforts in providing us with an original draft for this Conservation Assessment. Conservation Assessment for White Adder’s Mouth Orchid (Malaxis Brachypoda) (A. Gray) Fernald 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Malaxis brachypoda (A. Gray) Fernald is considered rare throughout much of its range. It is a small, inconspicuous, one-leaved orchid that occurs in the Great Lakes region, New England, west from Newfoundland across Canada to British Columbia and southern Alaska, with disjunct populations in Colorado and California. Malaxis brachypoda is known to occur in four National Forests in the Eastern Region (Region 9) of the Forest Service (USDA 2000): Chequamegon- Nicolet (Wisconsin), Chippewa (Minnesota), Hiawatha (Michigan), and Huron-Manistee (Michigan). In Wisconsin and Minnesota, Malaxis brachypoda is a state listed, special concern species. It is reported to occur in the state of Michigan, but it is not considered to be a species of concern and is not tracked. This species occurs in wetlands such as bogs, swamps, swales, and wet meadows, as well as in crevices of shady wet cliffs and ledges. It often grows in shaded areas, but occurs in the open as well. Some of the major threats to this species are hydrological disturbances and canopy removal due to logging. Very little is understood about the life cycle, ecology, or population biology of M. brachypoda. Some information may be generalized with caution from other orchid species, including M. paludosa. More research needs to be done specifically on M. brachypoda, including the mycorrhizal association upon which it is dependent. Long-term monitoring of populations of this species and its habitat are needed to assess population viability and stability in order to help make wise management decisions. INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES One of the conservation practices of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service is designation of Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS). The Eastern Region (R9) of the Forest Service updated its Sensitive Species list on 29 February 2000 (USDA 2000). Part of that process included identification of priority species for conservation assessments and strategies. Malaxis brachypoda (A. Gray) Fernald, white adder’s-mouth orchid, was one of those priority species. This species is listed as a Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS) on the Hiawatha National Forest in the Upper Peninsula and the Huron-Manistee National Forest in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is also a RFSS on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin and the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota (RFSS 2000). This species is also listed as a RFSS in the Rocky Mountain Region (Region 2). The objectives of this document are to: 1. Provide an overview of current biological, ecological, systematic, and other knowledge for this species. 2. Provide a summary of the distribution and status of this species, both range wide and within the Eastern Region of the USDA Forest Service. 3. Provide the available background information needed to prepare a subsequent Conservation Strategy. Conservation Assessment for White Adder’s Mouth Orchid (Malaxis Brachypoda) (A. Gray) Fernald 3 NOMENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY Scientific Name: Malaxis brachypoda (A. Gray) Fernald Family: Orchidaceae; orchid family Common Name: White adder’s-mouth orchid USDA Plant Code: MABR5 Synonyms: Malaxis monophylla (L.) Sw. var. brachypoda (Gray) Morris Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. var. brachypoda (A. Gray) Morris and Eames Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. subsp. brachypoda (A. Gray) A. Löve and D. Löve Microstylis brachypoda A. Gray Malaxis comes from the Greek word meaning soft or delicate, referring apparently to the leaves of that genus (Smith 1993). Brachypoda is a Greek word meaning “short-pedicilled” (Fuller 1933) or “short foot” apparently referring to the pedicel length (Wisconsin State Herbarium). In 1830, Lindley (Luer 1975) assumed that North American plants of this orchid were identical to Microstylis (Malaxis) monophyllos growing in Europe. However, in 1835, Asa Gray concluded that the North American plants differed enough from their European counterparts to warrant naming a new species, Microstylis brachypoda. One of the main differences between the European and North American plants is the degree of twisting of the pedicel. The North American plants have flowers whose pedicels are twisted 180° (resupinate) resulting in the lip being in the lowermost position in the flower. The flower of the