''Galearis spectabilis'', commonly known as showy orchis
or showy orchid,
[ is an orchid species of the genus '']Galearis
''Galearis'' is a genus of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) native to North America and eastern Asia. It contains about ten recognized species. The family name comes from the Greek word ''orchis'' ('testicle'), in reference to the shape of the roo ...
''. It is native to eastern Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
) and much of the eastern half of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(from southeastern Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
east to eastern South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
and north to Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
and Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
).[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families](_blank)
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Description
''Galearis spectabilis'' can be found in mesic deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
woodlands in the eastern United States. ''G. spectabilis'' begins growth in spring, producing one or two oval, fleshy basal leaves from a rhizome, which persist throughout summer. Flower stalks arise on stems with three to twelve flowers blooming in April to May. The flowers are hooded and the namesake of the plant due to the showy, typically bicolored lavender and white flowers. The lavender hood is formed from three fused sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s. Two petals are tucked inside the hood and the labellum (third petal) is longer and white. Plants are slow-growing and form clumps over time via crown offshoots from the rhizome.
Pollination of the flower is conducted by long-tongued ''Bombus
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...
'', as well as other bees, butterflies, and moths. Besides it alluring colors, ''G. spectabilis'' flowers also provide pollinators a nectar reward which collects at the base of the spur. ''G. spectabilis'' is typically found on hillsides which may be rocky, damp and near seeps growing under a canopy of deciduous trees in half to deep shade. Plants have also been reported to be found thriving living just about a floodplain, again under a deciduous canopy. Plants are rarely seen in full sun.
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1596744
spectabilis
Orchids of North America
Flora of Canada
Flora of the Eastern United States
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus