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Spiranthes brevilabris Lindl.
Downy Slender Ladies-tresses
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G1G2
State Rank: SH
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): No
2025 SGCN Priority Tier:
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 2
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Wet, pine savannas and flatwoods, well-managed by fire
Perennial herb with a basal rosette of 3 - 5 overwintering leaves. The leaves are 0.8 - 2.4 inches (2 - 6 cm) long and up to 0.8 inch (2 cm) wide, in a rosette at the base of the stem, oval to lance-shaped, yellowish-green, present during flowering. The flower stalk is up to 16 inches (40 cm) tall, with several sheathing bracts but no leaves. The inflorescence consists of a single row of 35 or fewer flowers that spiral around the stem, with 8 - 10 flowers per cycle of the spiral (flowers are sometimes confined to one side of the stem rather than in a spiral); the flower stalk is densely hairy and also has some gland-tipped hairs. The flowers are less than 0.2 inch (4 - 5 mm) long, yellowish-white, and very hairy; 2 petals and 3 sepals are similar in size and shape and curve forward; the lip petal curves slightly downward, and has a yellow center and a wavy or fringed edge. Fruits are oval capsules less than 0.2 inch (5 mm) long, with many dust-like seeds.
Several species of Ladies-tresses produce overwintering leaf rosettes and bloom in late winter or early spring in south Georgia. Spiranthes brevilabris and S. floridana are especially similar. Short-lipped Ladies-tresses is distinguished by its hairy, yellowish-white flowers and hairy flower stalk. For more information on S. floridana, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.a2hosted.com/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=17359
Seven species of Spiranthes are rare in Georgia:
Downy Slender Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes brevilabris) occurs in frequently burned wet, pine savannas and flatwoods, cemeteries, and on roadsides through these habitats in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=18671
Eaton’s Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes eatonii) occurs in frequently burned pine savannas and dry flatwoods, cemeteries, and on roadsides through these habitats in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Spiranthes_eatonii
Florida Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes floridana) occurs in wet savannas, mowed grassy openings in the Okefenokee area, and on roadsides through these habitats in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=17359
Long-lipped Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes longilabris) occurs in low hammocks with saw palmetto, seasonally wet depressions in pine flatwoods and savannas, fields, and wet roadside ditches in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=19007
Great Plains Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum) occurs in northwest Georgia in grassy areas on limestone cedar glades and in prairie openings in the Coosa River valley. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=15517
Northern Oval Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes ovalis var. erostellata) occurs in seepy margins of small streams and floodplain forests throughout Georgia except the southeast corner. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Spiranthes_ovalis_var._erostellata
Pale Green Ladies-tresses (Spiranthes sylvatica, synonym S. praecox) occurs in Live Oak hammocks and other open woodlands in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Spiranthes_praecox
Frequently burned pine savannas and flatwoods with moist soils, and roadsides and cemeteries in these habitats.
Short-lipped Ladies-tresses produces rosettes of leaves during the winter; the leaves are still visible when the flowers open early in the spring, but wither soon after. Ladies-tresses’ flowers are pollinated by bumblebees and halictid bees. Self-pollination is discouraged by two sequences of events. First, when a flower opens, a tiny structure at the center of the flower (the column) is pressed against the flower’s lip, covering the stigma and leaving only a narrow space into which a bee can insert its tongue in search of nectar. While the stigma is covered, the flower can’t be pollinated. As the bee sips nectar, two pollen packets stick to its proboscis. Once the bee exits the flower, carrying with it that flower’s pollen packets, the column lifts up, exposing the stigma. The next bee that comes along to sip nectar – possibly carrying pollen packets from another plant – may brush against the exposed stigma and deposit the pollen. Second, in order to discourage the movement of pollen between flowers on the same plant, the flowers in a spike open from the bottom to the top of the spike. Bees always work their way from the bottom to the top of a flower spike as they gather nectar. If they pick up pollen from flowers at the bottom of the spike, flowers on the same spike nearer the top will not yet be open and receiving pollen. Instead, the bee flies to an open flower on another plant, gathers nectar and deposits its pollen load, thus cross-pollinating the flower. If pollinated, the flowers produce small capsules containing many dust-like seeds that are dispersed by the wind. As with all species of orchid, the minute seeds of Short-lipped Ladies-tresses require the presence of certain species of fungi to germinate and support seedlings.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (late February–April).
Historically, Spiranthes brevilabris occurred in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and east Texas. Only plants in north Florida and east Texas are currently known, with a total of 10 - 25 populations. This species was documented twice in Georgia, in 1903 and in the 1930s.
Habitat loss from clearing, ditching, draining, filling, and conversion to pine plantations and development has brought this species to the brink of extinction.
Spiranthes brevilabris is ranked SH by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that the species has not been seen in Georgia in many decades. This species was documented twice in Georgia, in 1903 and in the 1930s.
Conduct surveys to determine current status of this species in Georgia. Protect remnant examples of flatwoods and savannas from development and conversion to pine plantations. Apply prescribed fires every 2 - 3 years, preferably during the growing season; avoid use of herbicides on roadside rights-of-way.
Brown, P.M. and S.N. Folsom. 2004. Wild orchids of the southeastern United States. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Catling, P.M. 1983. Pollination of northeastern North American Spiranthes (Orchidaceae). Canadian Journal of Botany 61(4): 1080–1093. https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/b83-116
Sheviak, C.J. and P.M. Brown. 2003. Spiranthes brevilabris species account. Flora of North America, Vol. 26, Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford University Press, New York. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Spiranthes_brevilabris
Luer, C.A. 1975. The native orchids of the United States and Canada, excluding Florida. New York Botanical Garden, New York.
NatureServe. 2007. Spiranthes brevilabris species account. NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.143352/Spiranthes_brevilabris
Proctor, M. and P. Yeo. 1972. Pollination of flowers. Taplinger Publishing Company, New York.
Stewart S.L., Zettler L.W., Minso J. and Brown P.M. 2003. Symbiotic germination and reintroduction of Spiranthes brevilabris Lindley, an endangered orchid native to Florida. Selbyana 24: 64-70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41750957?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Stewart, S.L. and M.E. Kane. 2007. Symbiotic seed germination and evidence for mycobiont specificity between two closely-related Florida terrestrial orchids, Spiranthes brevilabris and Spiranthes floridana (Orchidaceae). In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology 43: 178-186. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11627-006-9023-4
Stewart, S.L. 2003. The successful reintroduction of the short-lipped ladies’-tresses to Florida, USA: implications for the future of native orchid restoration. Reintroduction News, Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group, January 2003: 21-22. https://iucn-ctsg.org/project/re-introduction-news-january-2003/
Stewart, S.L. 2002. Saving a native orchid: a case study on the reintroduction of Spiranthes brevilabris into native habitats in Florida. Orchids, the Magazine of the American Orchid Society, 2002: 916-919.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L. Chafin, Aug. 2008: original account
K. Owers, Feb. 2010: added picture
L. Chafin, May 2020: updated original account.