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Orchidaceae
Habenaria

not marked as a favorite taxon Habenaria repens Nuttall. Common name: Water-spider Orchid, Floating Orchid. Phenology: Apr-Nov. Habitat: Blackwater swamps, pools, banks of creeks and rivers, marshes. Distribution: Se. VA and NC south to s. FL and west to e. and s. TX; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, and n. South America.

Glossary (beta!)

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, ETx1, FNA26, GW1, K4, NcTx, NS, POWO, RAB, S, Tx, WH3, WI, Batista et al (2011), Brown (2002), Correll (1950), Luer (1975); = n/a — C; > Habenaris nuttallii Small — S13; > Habenaria repens Nutt. — S13; Habenaria repens Nutt. Basionym: Habenaria repens Nutt. 1818

Links to other floras: = Habenaria repens - FNA26

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Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
  • Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: OBL
  • Great Plains: OBL

Heliophily ⓘ: 6

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image #1 of Habenaria repens© Alan Cressler: Habenaria repens, Boiling Springs Lake, Brunswick County, North Carolina 2 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Habenaria repens© Floyd A. Griffith | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Habenaria repens© Alvin Diamond, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Alvin Diamond source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #4 of Habenaria repens© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Habenaria repens© Floyd A. Griffith | Original Image ⭷
image #6 of Habenaria repens© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Habenaria repens© Alvin Diamond, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Alvin Diamond source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Habenaria repens© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #9 of Habenaria repens© Scott Ward | Original Image ⭷

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Horticultural Information

NCBG trait

Intro: Erect perennial of blackwater swamps, pools and banks of creeks and rivers, often found in floating mats of vegetation.

Stems: Stems unbranched, leafy and smooth.

Leaves: Leaves alternate, sessile-clasping, lance-shaped, to 10 in. long (reduced up the stem), with prominent parallel veins, thick and fleshy.

Inforescence:

Flowers: Flowers in a crowded, terminal spikelike raceme, each with a leaflike bract; flowers green, about ½ in. wide, consisting of 3 sepals and 3 petals that are divided into very narrow segments, making the bloom resemble a spider; a slender spur curves below each flower.

Fruits:

Comments: At night flowers emit a strong vanilla-like fragrance that attracts moth pollinators.

Height: 4-20 in.

plant sale text:

bloom table text:

description: Erect perennial of blackwater swamps, pools and banks of creeks and rivers, often found in floating mats of vegetation.

stems: Stems unbranched, leafy and smooth.

leaves: Leaves alternate, sessile-clasping, lance-shaped, to 10 in. long (reduced up the stem), with prominent parallel veins, thick and fleshy.

inflorescence:

flowers: Flowers in a crowded, terminal spikelike raceme, each with a leaflike bract; flowers green, about ½ in. wide, consisting of 3 sepals and 3 petals that are divided into very narrow segments, making the bloom resemble a spider; a slender spur curves below each flower.

fruits:

comments: At night flowers emit a strong vanilla-like fragrance that attracts moth pollinators.

cultural notes:

germination code:

native range:



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