Tipularia discolor

Tipularia discolor, the crippled cranefly[3] or crane-fly orchid, is a perennial terrestrial woodland orchid, a member of the family Orchidaceae.[1] It is the only species of the genus Tipularia found in North America. It occurs in the southeastern United States from Texas to Florida, the range extending north into the Ohio Valley and along the Appalachians as far north as the Catskills. There are also isolated populations in Massachusetts and in the Great Lakes region.[4][5]

Tipularia discolor

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Tipularia
Species:
T. discolor
Binomial name
Tipularia discolor
(Pursh) Nuttall[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Orchis discolor Pursh
  • Plectrurus discolor (Pursh) Raf.
  • Tipularia unifolia Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
  • Limodorum unifolium Muhl.

Tipularia discolor grows a single leaf in September that disappears in the spring. The leaf top is green, often with dark purple spots. The leaf underside is a striking purple color. The flower blooms in mid-July to late August. The roots are a connected series of edible corms. They are starchy and almost potato-like.

The plant is pollinated by noctuid moths, by means of flowers which incline slightly to the right or left, so the pollinaria can attach to one of the moth's compound eyes.[6] The details of the inflorescence can be seen in a video recorded in State Botanical Gardens in Athens, GA .[7]

  • Clonal group
  • Colony, with seed pods, Florida, February.
  • Purple underside of leaf
  • Flowers
  • Seed pods
  • Broken seed pod with micrograph of seed insert.

Crane-fly orchids are endangered, threatened, or rare in several states.[3]

References
  1. Justice, William S.; Bell, C. Ritchie; Lindsey, Anne H. (2005). Wild Flowers of North Carolina (2. printing. ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: Univ. of North Carolina Press. p. 156. ISBN 0807855979.
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. "Tipularia discolor". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  4. "Tipularia discolor in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  5. Biota of North America Program, county distribution map
  6. "Tipularia discolor". Flora of North America.
  7. Sezen, Uzay. "Crippled Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor) (2014)". Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  • Homoya, Michael A. (1993). Orchids of Indiana. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-32864-0.


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