familyOrchidaceae
subfamilyOrchidaceae subfam. Orchidoideae
genusPiperia
speciesPiperia elegans
subspeciesPiperia elegans subsp. elegans
Piperia elegans subsp. elegans
IllustratedEndemic
Basionym: Habenaria maritima (Sprengel) S. Watson 1892
Synonyms: Habenaria elegans var. maritima (Greene) Ames Habenaria elegans var. multiflora (Rydberg) Peck Habenaria greenei Greene Habenaria unalascensis subsp. maritima Habenaria unalascensis var. maritima (Greene) Correll Piperia maritima Piperia multiflora
Plants 12–73(–100) cm. Flowers pleasantly scented or musky; petals and lip pale green to white; spur 7–14 mm; viscidia oblong, 0.6–1 mm, usually more than 2 times as long as wide.
Phenology: Flowering Jun–Sep/Oct.
Habitat: Conifer and mixed evergreen forests, coastal scrub, exposed coastal bluff
Elevation: 0–1700 m
Distribution
B.C., Calif., Idaho, Mont., Oreg., Wash.
Discussion
Plants on exposed coastal bluffs are shorter and stouter than plants in sheltered or inland localities. Plants in warmer interior locations flower earlier than those on the coast and have fewer stem bracts. The flowers are pollinated by noctuid moths (J. D. Ackerman 1977).
A population in San Francisco, California, is also unusual by having basally attenuate stems and by flowering very late (Sep–Oct).
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.