The Palmetto, Fall 1990, Page 3

Despite the considerable precipitation that falls on the so-called Sunshine binomials. State, if you hear somebody talking about Florida's "Rain Orchids'~ tell them, Estimates of the number of species of Habenaria vary from 300to 600,depend• 'Whoa, there! Hold your horses. You must mean "Rein Orchids:' ingon how the isdelimited.lnthe The homonymic nature of the words "rain" and "rein" make the mistake modern, stricter sense of the genus, understandable. But these orchids - which belong to the genus Habenaria• however, the lower number probably is are properly "Rein Orchids" with an "e'~ more accu rate. Species of the genus Habenaria are found throughout , by Chuck McCartney , and Asia. Five taxa of true habenarias occu r in Florida. Two are rather limited in distribution within the In the mid-1700s,Swedish botanist Carl generic name as the specific epithet. state. The other three are encountered Thus, Linne's could not be called von Linne obtained specimensof a New relatively frequently in their chosen World orchid bearing flowers producing Habenaria habenaria. (This practice is habitats. These Rein Orchids of Florida allowed in zoological nomenclature, a nectar spur that hung down nearly generally bloom from late summer into giving us such stuttering names as seven inches from the back of the lip. early winter. Linne, known to the world by his Latin• Anhinga anhinga.) Linne'sOrchis haben• ized name, Carolus Linnaeus, and con• aria of 1759 therefore became Will• Habenaria qu;nqueseta denow's . This sidered the father of our modern In the pinelands of EvergladesNational binomial system of botanical nomen• species epithet came from the Greek Park, (Michaux) clature, placed this western hemisphere words meaning "large horn'; no doubt A. Eaton var. quinqueseta can be found terrestrial orchid in the genus Orchis, also referri ng to the length of the nectar blooming from late August through which is now considered limited to spur of this orchid. Today,we knowthis September, sometimes right along road- Eurasia. He called it Orchis habenaria, plant as Habenaria quinqueseta coining the speciesepithet from the Latin (Michaux) A. Eaton var. macroceratitis word habena, meaning "strap';"thong'; or (Willdenow) Luer. It is considered the "rein': The name probably refers to the type species for the genus Habenaria, long, rein-like nectar spur, although the and it is present in Florida. three-lobed lip and lower lobe of each Because of the generic name, bilobed lateral also appear some• members ofthe genus Habenaria today what rein-like. are called Rein Orchids, a rather artificial Later, in 1805,Carl Ludwig Willdenow common name manufactured for per• erected the genus Habenaria, using the sons unableto remember Latinized plant Linnaean species name for his new grouping. Rules of botanical nomen• c1aturedo not allow the repetition of the The species name of Habenaria quinqueseta comes from the Latin words for"five bristles', refer• ring to what, at first, looks like the flower's five-part lip. Only the lower three 'bristles"belong to the lip. The outermost upswept bristle on each side is the lower lobe of each bilobed lateral petal. This plant was growing in a pasture under pines in the Big Cypress Swamp in September, 1984.

sides.This species rangesthroughoutthe Florida peninsula, up the Atlantic coast as far as southern South Carolina and along the Gu If coast asfar west aseastern Texas.In those areas,it may occu py plant ,I communities other than the harsh pine• I land environment in which it is found in I I southern Florida.

B"LOBEO PETALJ This species produces attractive, somewhat spidery, white to greenish• white, inch-wide flowers which exhibit the typical Habenaria floral form. In fact, the species name, quinqueseta, created \ , byAnd reMichaux in 1803for a plant from ______LSPUR Blooming of Habenaria quinqueseta have the Carolinas, makes reference to this large leaves growing up the stem. Such "cauline" form. It comes from the Latin words leaves are typical for the genus Habenaria. This meaning "five bristles': On first glance, specimen, growing under pines in a pasture in Big Cypress Swamp, was photographed in Sep• the lip of the flower appears to be made tember, 1987. up of five bristle-like lobes. But only the Page 4, The Palmetto, Fall 1990 lower three lobes belong to the lip, and the stem, all the larger leaves are a similarly deeply three-lobed lip is clustered around the bottom of the stem, typical of most species of true formi ng a basal rosette againstthe damp habenarias. The 'widest-spreading lobe ground in which these plants grow. The on each side of the lip is actually the species epithet, distans, comes from a lowermost lobe of each deeply bilobed Latin word meaning "standing apart" and lateral petal, again with such d~eply may refer to the distance between the bilobed being typical for the leaves and the flowers in this rosulate genus. The shorter, broader upper lobe Habenaria distans is the rarest Rein Orchid in species. It also may refer to the rather of each petal is held tightly against the Florida, producing green-and-yellow flowers similar widely spaced flowers on the few• concave dorsal , forming a hood in form to those of Habenaria quinqueseta. flowered inflorescence. The exact overthe entrance to the usually long nec• However, the lateral lobes of the lip spread wider reference is not clear, according to Luer. tar spur jutting from the back of the lip. in H. distans. Photographed in a damp swamp forest in Collier County in September, 1986. The length of the nectar spur can vary Habenaria repens considerably within the genus. The' The other Rein Orchid in Florida lateral often fold back out of the County, it is represented by at least two way because they do not seem essential healthy populations, one on a tree island displaying typical Habenaria flower characteristics is Habenaria repens Nut• to the mechanism of the pollination in the depths of the Fakahatchee Strand, tall, one of the Sunshine State's few process. and another in a damp swamp forest in Because of the long-spurred flower a protected area nearer the Gulf coast. structure, pollination would appear to be This species also occurs in much of the by butterflies and/or moths. _ Caribbean and Central Americaand in a Plants of Habenaria quinqueseta, small portion of northern South America. which can range from less than eight inches to more than 24 inches in height, also exhibit typical Habenaria vegetative form, with large cauline [growing from the stem] leaves extending well up the stem from the base on flowering specimens. Leaves on sterile plants re• main as a basal rosette. In the typical form of Habenaria quin• queseta, the nectar spu r rangesfrom less than two inches to almost four inches in length. A longer-spu rred form occurs in a limited area of western central Florida, Habenaria repens is commonly called the Water generally from Tampa Bay northward to Spider Orchid, with good reason. It is one of Florida's few truly aquatic orchids, often grawing the Big Bend area of north Florida. Thi? in standing water. And the little flowers do indeed isthe form Linne fi rstdescribed asOrchis look like nests of spiders crowding the in• habenaria. It also occu rsfrom southern florescence. This specimen was growing beside an through and artificial pond in Palm Beach County, June, 1985. along the Caribbean coast of northern South America aswell ason the islands "aquatic" orchids (and perhaps more of and . The latter island deserving of this designation than supposedly is the type locality for this Spiranthes odorata). In fact, its ap• form. propriate common name, Water Spider Although this extreme difference in Orchid, makes allusion to the aquatic length of the nectar spur probably in• habitat in which Habenaria repens most dicates a different pollinatoror group of frequently is found. And the spicate Habenaria distans does not produce large leaves racemes of little greenish flowers, with pollinators forthe two forms, in all other on the bloom stem, as do most other Rein Orchids. floral details the long-spurred form ap• Instead, the leaves grow at ground level, forming their typical Habenaria shape, do, in• pears to be identical to the typical form a basal rosette. Photographed in swamp forest in deed, look like nests of spiders. of Habenaria quinqueseta. This led Dr. Collier County, September, 1986. Although rare in southern Florida, this orchid is considered the most common Carlyle A. Luer, in The Native Orchids of Florida (1972),to reduce the long• Habenaria in central Florida, where it oc• spurred form to a variety of the typical curs along the edges of lakes, as well as form, as Habenaria quinqueseta var. actually in the lakes growing out of macroceratitis. floating mats of vegetation. Besides be• ing fou nd throughout most of peni nsular Habenaria distans Florida, Habenaria repens occu rsup the Very similartoHabenaria quinqueseta Atlantic coast asfar asNorth Carol ina and in both flower size and form is Florlda's along the Gulf coast down into Mexico. rarest Rein Orchid. This is Habenaria It also is found throughout the West In• distans Grisebach, which has been dies and the lands ringing the Caribbean reported in Floridaonlyfrom Highlands, basin. Lee, and Collier counties. In Collier The flowers of Habenaria repens are The Palmetto, Fall 1990,. Page 5 considerably smaller than those of the variety of the Mexican Habenaria stric• two lateral petals, making them scarcely other species ofthis genus occu rring in tissima Reichenbach f., a name under visible as little lobules at the base of the Florida, being only about one-half an which the Florida plants sometimes are widened upper lobe. Thetipofeach up• encountered in older texts. per lobe sports a pointed, tooth-like pro• In south Florida, Habenaria odon• jection, accounting for the species topetala is a species of hammocks and epithet, odontopetala., which comes swamp forests, where it blooms from from the Greek words for 'tooth' and November into February. The species 'petal: These wider, poi nted upper lobes diverge more from the dorsal sepal in this species than they do in Florida's other Rein Orchids, making them more promi• nent than in the other species. The size and floriferousness of plants of Habena ria odontopetala can vary con• siderably. In the shade of a hammock in Everglades National Park, plants may be only a foot or two tall and may produce only a few flowers widely spaced along the stem. However, plants growing in slightly sunnier (and obviously more op• timum) locations in the Big Cypress Swamp may beas tall asfou rfeet and may produce racemesdensely packed with as many as 60 or more flowers. Flower color also can vary from green to yellow. Sometimes, bicolored flowers occur, with the yellow petals and lip set off against the green sepals. Old flowers What Habenaria repens lacks in flower size, it more also persist on the stem for a long time, than makes up for in floriferousness, producing with the green sepals remaining fresh spicate racemes crowdede with tiny Rein Orchid flowers. This is the same flower as in the close-up of H. repens.

inch across. However, what it lacks in Habenaria odontopetala is a species of hammocks flowers size, this species more than and damp woodlands, producing typical Rein Or• makes up for in floriferousness, with the chid plants with large leaves growing up the stem. tall racemes bearing up to 50 or more Photographed in a hammock remnant in Broward flowers. County, November, 1987. Unlike other true habenarias in Florida, Habenada repens blooms occurs throughout peninsular Florida, sporadically th roughout the year,accord• [including, as readers found out in the ing to Luer. last issue of The Palmetto, in the En• The species name, repens, applied to chanted Forest in Titusville]. Luer reports this orchid by Thomas NutlCi!! ill 1818, that in the northern part of the state, it comes from the Latin, and traditionally i5 blooms as early as September. interpreted to mean "creeping'; referring This species also occurs in the to plants whose stems creep along , the Greater Antilles, and from ground. This doesn't apply at all to Mexico through Central America. There Habenaria repens, which proudly holds is also a suspiciously similar species erect its inflorescences of up to 20inches reported for called Habenaria in height. The name thus becomes even petalodes. more mysterious in meaning than that Habenaria odontopetala diverges from Habenaria odontopetala differs somewhat in flower for Habenaria distans. Luer,in The Native the typical Habenaria flower form. The form from other Rein Orchids. The normally long Orchids of Florida, offers this alternative form is still there- but you have to look side lobes of the lip and lower lobes of the lateral at the flowers very closely to perceive it. petals are reduced to mere minute lobules. The explanation of the meaning: 'A.ccording species names refers to the tooth-like point at the to a standard Latin dictionary, repens This seemingly anomalous flower struc• tip of each upper petal lobe. Photographed in Palm means sudden or unexpected, which ture led John Kunkel Small, the "splitter Beach County, January, 1986. could very nicely refer to the manner in supreme" of southeastern u.s. flora, to which these inconspicuous plants are place it in its own monotypic genus, as usually encountered:' Habenaria odontopetala. In Habenaria odontopetala, the side Habenaria odontopetala lobes of the lip are reduced to mere In southern Florida, the most common minute lobules, and the middle lobe Rein Orchid is Habenaria odontopetala becomes considerably wider and strap• • Reichenbach f., which was once (and like. The same kind of diminution occu rs apparently erroneously) considered a with the normally long lower lobes of the Page 6, The Palmetto, Fall 1990 of Habenaria repens, especia-Ily in length. True habenarias JJ, Julip OJ" in p,ninsulall ]Iolli/a In the past, a number of disparate plants were lumped together in the (Li4iQ/eIJIJQIJ lu!Jfit/Ma) genus Habenaria, and most older texts (and far too many new ones, unfortu nate• by William D. Moriaty Iy) list these as habenarias in Florida. However, the fou r species and one varie• ty discussed here are the only true habenarias occurring in North America north of Mexico, asthe genus is cu rrent• One of Florida's finest large native north of the main path. Kelly Park is Iy understood. trees is the Liriodendron tulipifera Lin• north of Apopka just east of SR435. Habenaria in this stricter sense is neaus. A member of the Magnol ia fam i• Toward the west coast, several primarily tropical to subtropical in Iy, this species is known commonly as specimens are growing in and near distribution. The roots produce swollen, the tulip tree, tulip poplar, or yellow McKethan Park, which is north of tuber-like growths termed root-stem poplar. Brooksville on the west side of U.S. 41. tuberoids. In the flowers, the pro• These Hernando County examples can Range duces lobes which grow downward be found by a little woods walking just around the opening of the nectar spur, Its natural range is from southern south of the entrance road, and just essentially surrounding it. Vermont and southern Illinois south to east ofthe intersection of the lake loop Most other plants in North America eastern Louisiana and northern road. formerly lumped into the genus Florida, with relict and endemic Planted examples in the Peninsula Habenaria now are placed in the genus popu lations asfar south asOrange and can be found in the following , which is primarily north• Hernando counties in central Florida. locations: temperate in occu rrence. Although Largest trees are usually found in the Ocala, Marion Cou nty- Town plants of Platanthera may have fleshy Appalachian Mountains in the Square, downtown, SR 40. roots, they lack the distinctive root-stem southeast, and the Ohio River valley. Orlando, Orange Cou nty- Lake Eola tuberoids of true habenarias. Also, the The only other member of this genus Park, north side of lake, just south of stigma of the flowers does not surrou nd occurs naturally in the Orient, and is Robinson Avenue. the opening of the nectar spur. known as Liriodendron chinensis. EPCOT Center, Orange County• Several members of the genus Platan• In Florida, native stands are most Communicore West, west side of thera are found in Florida, with the more abundant along the sides of seepage building. spectacu lar ones, such as Platanthera slopes in the moist soi Isof the Panhan• Tampa, Hillsborough County• ciliaris, Platanthera cristata, and Platan• dle, particularly from Jefferson Coun• Armenia Avenue, west side of pave• thera blephariglottis-the so-called tywestward. Populous stands can also ment on the grounds of a funeral Fringed Orchids-occurring only from be found in Putnam and Duval coun• home. central Florida northward. ties, usually bordering streams and Tampa, Hillsborough County-Jesuit The sale Platanthera straggling in• swam p hardwood ham mocks. The tree High School, north entrance road. to South Florida is Platanthera nivea, was allegedly native to Alachua Coun• Specimen may have taken a lightning which produces small, snowy-white ty, but was logged to extinction. The on• hit three years ago; appears to be flowers with the lip uppermost, rather ly examples there are planted ones, recoveri ng. than pointing downward as in most with several noteworthy specimens on Tampa, Hillsborough County• resupinate orchid flowers. This species, the University of Florida campus. Corporex Business Park, Buffalo Ave• which blooms from late May into June In the remainder of the central part nue, extreme southwest end of en• and early July in Florida, is discordant of the Peninsula, however, their trance road. Strangely, it is sheared even within the genus Platanthera, and numbers decrease dramatically as annually to a height of about ten feet! sometimes is encountered in the genus growing conditions for this species St. Petersburg, Pinellas County-Bay Gymnadeniopsis. become more difficultdueto soil con• Pines Veterans Administration Hospi• [Since this presentation by Chuck tent, hydrological extremes, lack of tal, north of Building 2, and at the McCartney was precipitated by your winter chill, and intensified solar police station. editor's incorrect spelling of Rein Orchid conditions. in the article about "The Enchanted Nevertheless, large specimens can Culturing Forest" in the last issue of The Palmetto, be found in several locales in the Penin• Liriodendron performs best in moist then the obvious close for this article is: sula. It is not uncommon for popula• (but not wet), organic soils, typically tions of these specimens to be up to 90 from Orange County northward. I have Next time you visit the Enchanted Forest, miles from one another. Natu ral stands remember to look for Habenaria odon• seen a few healthy examples, however, with these specimens are most abun• asfar south asArcadia in DeSoto Coun• topetala, the Rein Orchid, whether it's dant along the Wekiva River and its ty, so if the soil is enriched and water• raini ng or not!] tributaries in Orange, Lake, and ing is tended to during drought Chuck McCartney is a life-long Flori• Seminole counties. The best viewing periods, its range of growth can be ex• dian and specializes in orchids. He has on foot is at Kelly Park in Orange Cou n• tended farther south. written several articles about Florida's ty, where several large specimens can Plant in full sun or partial shade. Full species of these beautiful plants forThe be seen by crossing Rock Springs Run sun will usually produce the finest Palmetto. and surveying areas just southwest and shaped tree (generally pyramidal to'