Three Birds Orchid, Nodding Pogonia (Triphora trianthophora)
Part of the Florida's Native and Naturalized Orchids Website
Classification:Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular Plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae - Lily/related subclass
Order: Orchidales - Orchid order
Family: Orchidaceae - Orchid Family
Subfamily: Epidendroideae - Epidendroids
Tribe: Triphoreae - Triphora tribe.
Subtribe: Triphorinae - Triphora subtribe.
Distribution Map: |
Description: Summary: Small perennial herbs with purple stems and small, fingernail-sized green leaves. Flowers open a single morning (with all members of a population blooming synchronously), pale pink with green crests on the lip. Over the blooming period, many flowers will be produced sequentially. Common Name: Three Birds Orchid, Nodding Pogonia Habitat: Semi-dry woodlands, often found near the bases of hardwood trees. Flowering season: August through December |
Images:
Description:
This orchid is seldom seen, even in areas that it calls home, owing to the fact that it is small and inconspicuous. It is perhaps easiest seen when in flower, but that itself is a once-in-awhile affair, as each member of a population flowers at the same exact time for just one morning. Those who are not fortunate enough to catch this flush of blooms will see either the after-effects of a blooming--wilted flowers--or the prequel to the same--a number of eager buds waiting for some unknown environmental trigger that will encourage the final maturation of the bud into an open flower.
The Three Birds Orchid owes its name to the fact that robust plants can present up to three open flowers at once, each flower tilted upward like the maw of a small, hungry bird. A robust plant will also have many bloomings over a season, with new batches of buds unfurling from the newest leaves to emerge from the growing tip.
Plants tend to congregate near the bases of trees...it is theorized that the mycorrhizal fungus that supplies this species with nutrients also infects tree roots, thus allowing the orchid to indirectly parasitize nearby trees.
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