Isotria medeoloides

Isotria medeoloides
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Threatened (ESA)[2][3][4]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Vanilloideae
Genus:	Isotria
Species:	I. medeoloides
Binomial name
Isotria medeoloides (Pursh) Raf.

Isotria medeoloides, commonly known as small whorled pogonia or little five leaves, is a terrestrial orchid found in temperate Eastern North America.

Distribution

The orchid's range is from southern Maine south to Georgia and west to southern Ontario, Michigan, and Tennessee. A population was found in Missouri in 1897,^[5] but the plant is no longer believed extant there.^[6]

It has always been considered a rare species, often legendarily so. It has been called "the rarest orchid east of the Mississippi",^[7] and findings of it are covered by the media, such as the one found in Vermont in 2022.^[8]

The plant's habitat includes hardwood and conifer-hardwood forests, where it is found in leaf litter along small "braided" intermittent streams. Its native range includes the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes region.

Description

Isotria medeoloides is a rhizomatous herb producing a waxy gray-green stem up to about 25 centimeters tall. The gray-green leaves are up to 8.5 centimeters long by 4 wide and are borne in a characteristic whorl.

The flower has green and green-streaked yellowish petals measuring between 1 and 2 centimeters long.^[9]

Conservation

The plant is listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, having been downlisted from endangered status in 1994 as more populations were discovered, and several were given protection.^[6] It is listed as an endangered species by most states or provinces within its range.^[10] There are about 104 populations known to exist, but most of these are small, containing fewer than 25 plants.^[7]

The main threat to the species' existence is the destruction of its habitat.^[7] Other threats include wild pigs, off-road vehicles, predation by deer and slugs, vandalism, and collection.^[11]

Taxonomy

This orchid is sometimes confused with the common Indian cucumber (Medeola virginiana), which has similar whorled leaves and grows in similar habitat types. The species name medeoloides is a reference to this similarity.^[7]

Anecdotal tales of the species only appearing at decades-long intervals do not appear to be supported by field studies. The plant can usually remain dormant for up to three years.^[7]

Notes

1. Treher, A.; Sharma, J.; Frances, A.; Poff, K. (2015). "Isotria medeoloides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T64176265A65215480. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T64176265A65215480.en. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
2. "Small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
3. 47 FR 39827
4. 59 FR 50852
5. Small whorled pogonia. Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine Missouri Conservationist.
6. USFWS. Isotria medeoloides Five-year Review. October 2008.
7. Isotria medeoloides. Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
8. "A rare orchid, thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in Vermont". Vermont Public Radio. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
9. I. medeoloides. Flora of North America.
10. USDA Plants Profile
11. USFS. I. medeoloides. Celebrating Wildflowers.

References

• Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.
• Radis, R.P. 1983. Endangered, Threatened, Vulnerable, and Rare Vascular Plant Species of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

External links

• Media related to Isotria medeoloides at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Isotria medeoloides at Wikispecies