Spiranthes magnicamporum Vs. Spiranthes cernua

I was delighted by how well received the comparison between the purple fringed orchids was and decided to make more illustrations for identification purposes. As requested, I will be focused mainly on Spiranthes for the time being. S. magnicamporum was considered the same species as S. cernua up until 1973. It can often be distinguished from S. cernua by the flared lateral sepals, the lack of basal leaves, the yellow thickened area on the labellum and by the shape of the flowers. S. cernua will often have a white labellum and basal leaves should be present while in flower. However, morphological differences can often be misleading since S. cernua is a species complex, and will occasionally exhibit traits from S. magnicamporum . Perhaps the best way to distinguish between the two is to examine the seeds, which are often polyembryonic on S. cernua, unlike those produced by S. magnicamporum

@sambiology and @eraskin, it is done! I will continue to make other illustrations throughout the year. Hope this is helpful.

<img src="https://johngangenexus.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/img_2973.jpg?w=525"

Posted on October 20, 2017 12:55 AM by arethusa