| Auricled twayblade | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Neottieae |
| Genus: | Neottia |
| Species: | N. auriculata |
| Binomial name | |
| Neottia auriculata (Wiegand) Szlach. [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Neottia auriculata (syn. Listera auriculata), the auricled twayblade, [2] is a species of terrestrial orchid found in northeastern North America (Labrador, New Brunswick and Maine west to Manitoba and Minnesota. [1] [3] [4]
N. auriculata when mature, has two ovate, sessile leaves that are paired on the stem but arranged oppositely. [5] It has small pale-green flowers with three sepals and three petals, the lowest petal is modified into a wider lip - which is divided from one-fourth to one-third its length. [5]
N. auriculata is a rare orchid species, which was in 1975 proposed as a threatened species in the US, but subsequent surveys found that it existed in greater abundance than initially thought. [5] In the Great lakes region it occupies a very specific habitat, which has sandy soils just about the high water line of rivers that enter lake Superior. It is associated with alders or mossy-banks under trees. [5]