Piperia candida

Illustrator: Barbara Alongi

Copyright: Flora of North America Association

Plants 10–60 cm. Stems uniform toward base, 0.7–3.5 mm diam. distal to leaves; bracts 2–5(–10). Leaves prostrate to erect-spreading; blade 5–18 × 1.1–3.5 cm. Inflorescences sparsely flowered, ± secund, (2–)10–30 cm; rachis shorter than or equal to peduncle; bracts 3–10 mm. Flowers white, fragrance faint, harsh to honeylike; sepals oblong-elliptic, 1.8–3.5(–4.5) × 1–1.9 mm; dorsal sepal projecting to ± recurved; lateral sepals deflexed, ± twisted; petals usually projecting forward and ± connivent, white, midvein faintly green, asymmetrically lanceolate, 2–4 × 1 mm; lip recurved, triangular-ovate, (1.5–)2–3(–4 mm) × 1–2.8 mm; spur curved, tapered, 1.5–4 mm; viscidia broadly elliptic to ovate, 0.3–0.6 × 0.2–0.4 mm; rostellum ± elongate. Capsules 5–9 mm. Seeds cinnamon brown. 2n = 42.

Phenology: Flowering late spring–summer (May–Aug).
Habitat: Conifer and mixed evergreen forests, chaparral, sometimes on serpentine soils, not more than 150 km from coast
Elevation: 0–1500 m

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

B.C., Alaska, Calif., Oreg., Wash.

Discussion

The flowers in Piperia candida are more completely white and more ephemeral than in any other member of the genus.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.