keys to the vascular plants of east texas - Botanical Research ...

774 ORCHIDACEAE/PLATANTHERA
nearly circular) (Sheviak 2002b). While the flowers are visited by long-tongued butterflies (as in
the similar P. ciliaris and P. chapmanii), pollination is by bees. The relatively short spur and the presence
of floral fragrance are consistent with bee pollination. This pollination difference apparently
functions as a reproductive isolating mechanism (Folsom 1984). Hybrids are known between P.
cristata and P. blephariglottis (Sheviak 2002b); Brown (2002b) treated the hybrid between P.
cristata and P. conspicua (P. blephariglottis var. conspicua) as P. �beckneri P.M. Br. m/294
Platanthera flava (L.) Lindl., (pale yellow), SOUTHERN REIN ORCHID, TUBERCLED FINGER ORCHID,
PALE GREEN ORCHIS, SOUTHERN TUBERCLED ORCHID. Plant 11–65 cm tall; leaves 1–4, ovate-oblong
to narrowly lanceolate, 5–23(–35) cm long, 1–5(–7) cm wide; spikes usually rather loosely-flowered,
slender, with 10–40 flowers; floral bracts mostly shorter than flowers; flowers yellowgreen;
sepals ovate-oblong to suborbicular, 2–4 mm long; petals ovate to oblong or suborbicular,
2–5 mm long; lip variable, broadly oblong to suborbicular, 2.2–6 mm long, unfringed, with a triangular
lobe or tooth on each side near base, with a tubercle or growth (fin-like, rounded) in the
center of the lip at or near lip base; spur slender (rarely slightly club-shaped), 4–11 mm long.
Wet habitats including stream beds, bogs, baygalls, swamps, floodplains, and wet savannahs,
often in standing water where it can form extensive linear colonies from the stoloniferous rhizomes
(L. Magrath, pers. comm.); Harrison (BRIT), Jasper, Rusk, Sabine (Liggio & Liggio 1999),
Harris, and Upshur (Correll 1961) cos. in the Pineywoods; also n margin of Gulf Prairies and
Marshes (se Harris Co.—collected by Larry Brown in an area invaded by Chinese tallow trees—
Liggio & Liggio 1999); e U.S. from NJ s to FL w to IL, OK, and TX. Jun–Jul. [Habenaria flava (L.)
R. Br., Perularia bidentata (Elliott) Small, Perularia scutellata (Nutt.) Small] Visitation of the
flowers by mosquitoes, moths, and butterflies has been reported (Luer 1975; Catling & Catling
1991b). According to Liggio and Liggio (1999), “The base of the lip has a fin-like knobby projection
that partially obstructs the entrance to the nectar-containing spur. When an insect tries to
reach this nectar, it is ‘reined’ into contact with the sticky area that contains the pollinia. This
probably explains the common name, ‘rein orchid’….” Plants from the n U.S. with denser, stouter
inflorescences and floral bracts longer than the flowers are recognized as var. herbiola (R. Br.)
Luer (e.g., Sheviak 2002b). m/294
Platanthera integra (Nutt.) A. Gray ex L.C. Beck, (whole, entire), YELLOW FRINGELESS ORCHID,
GOLDEN FROG-ARROW, SMALL SOUTHERN YELLOW ORCHIS, FROG-ARROW, GOLDEN FRET-LIP, OR-
ANGE REIN ORCHID. Plant 30–62(–72) cm tall; leaves 1–2(–3), oblong-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate,
10–20(–32) cm long, 1–3 cm wide; spikes densely-flowered, with 30–60 flowers; flowers
bright yellow; sepals ovate-orbicular to orbicular, 3–5 mm long; petals narrowly oblong to elliptic,
3–4 mm long; lip ovate-elliptic to obovate, (3–)4–5 mm long, crenulate or erose apically or
rarely nearly entire; spur slender, 5–6(–10) mm long. Hillside seepage bogs and wet pineland
savannahs; extremely rare in TX; Jasper (BRIT), Angelina, Hardin (Bridges & Orzell 1989a;
Liggio & Liggio 1999; Carr 2001), and Newton (J. Singhurst, pers. comm.) cos. in the s part of the
Pineywoods, typically on the Catahoula geologic formation (Bridges & Orzell 1989a); e U.S.
from NJ s to FL w to TX. Jul–Sep. [Gymnadeniopsis integra (Nutt.) Rydb., Habenaria integra
(Nutt.) Spreng.] Pollination by bumble bees has been reported (Luer 1975). This species is distinguished
from other orange and yellow Platanthera species by the unfringed lip. Until the
1980s, the only documented occurrence of this species in TX was a Drummond collection from
the 1800s. Holmes (1983), however, discovered that the Drummond specimen was misidentified
and thus that the species apparently was unknown from the state. Bridges and Orzell (1989a)
reported that a TEX sheet collected by Mrs. J.L. Hooks from Hardin Co. in 1950 was P. integra
and further, that they had found two extant populations in hillside seepage bogs in Angelina
and Jasper counties. As in P. clavellata and P. nivea, the column of P. integra bears 2 pairs of lateral
appendages; according to Sheviak (2002b), these 3 species “evidently form a group apart
from Platanthera.” (RARE 2001, 2002b: G3G4S1) � m/295