Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ponthieva racemosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may enjoy reading Orchids of the Francis Marion National Forest by Jim Fowler.
Learn more about Shadow Witch from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ponthieva racemosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ponthieva racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Ponthieva racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-11-001:
Ponthieva racemosa FAMILY Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ponthieva racemosa
COMMON NAME:
Shadow Witch, Ponthieu's Orchid, Shadow-witch Orchid
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_racemosasharpen
September
Flowers borne on long stalks in a well-spaced raceme along the upper stem, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_ponthieva_racemosa_4
September
Flowers white with green stripes, positioned horizonatally - "pointing up", per Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005).
)
Jim Fowler jafpon_000b
October Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Jim Fowler jafpon_000c
October Berkeley County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_6109076802450246
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
)
Sharleen Johnson shj_708894637467703
December Charleston County SC
Francis Marion National Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ponthieva racemosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ponthieva racemosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Ponthieva racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Ponthieva racemosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-11-001:
Ponthieva racemosa
FAMILY
Orchidaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ponthieva racemosa
2147
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Bottomlands, floodplains, moist ravines, nearly always over calcareous rock ('marl' or coquina limestone), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal rosette
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
White & Greenish
Bilaterally symmetrical
3 sepals, two lateral and one dorsal
3 petals, the two lateral similar and a third (the lip) enlarged
stamens and pistil fused together into a column
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in a raceme
FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p150
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p286
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p434
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p084
- Wild Orchids of South Carolina: A Popular Natural History (Fowler, 2005) p158
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p405
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".