Piperia
Encyclopedia
Piperia is a genus
of the orchid family Orchidaceae
. These plants are known as rein orchids. They are native to western North America, especially California
and the Pacific Northwest
. This genus has the following characteristics: (a) a bisexual perennial
nongreen plant that grows from buried tuber
s; fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds; (c) pollen
that is sticky, and which is removed as sessile
anther sacs; and (d) stigma fused with its style
into a column. There are a total of ten species in the genus Piperia, which is named for American botanist Charles V. Piper. The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or raceme
s.
The subsurface architecture of these terrestrial wild orchids consists of a rhizome
structure, from which emanate tuber
s. The rhizome extracts nutrients from fungal intermediates and may also store some of these nutrients. A basal rosette of leaves develops from the tuber at the surface of the soil, each of the two or three leaves being lanceolate in shape. Each leaf ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters in length and 20 to 35 millimeters in width. Leaves of younger plants are often more diminutive in size.
Piperia yadonii
exhibits a single veined flower one to two millimeters in width and a basal
rosette
leaf formation.
Selected species:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the orchid family Orchidaceae
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
. These plants are known as rein orchids. They are native to western North America, especially California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. This genus has the following characteristics: (a) a bisexual perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
nongreen plant that grows from buried tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s; fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds; (c) pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
that is sticky, and which is removed as sessile
Sessility (botany)
In botany, sessility is a characteristic of plants whose flowers or leaves are borne directly from the stem or peduncle, and thus lack a petiole or pedicel...
anther sacs; and (d) stigma fused with its style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
into a column. There are a total of ten species in the genus Piperia, which is named for American botanist Charles V. Piper. The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s.
The subsurface architecture of these terrestrial wild orchids consists of a rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
structure, from which emanate tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s. The rhizome extracts nutrients from fungal intermediates and may also store some of these nutrients. A basal rosette of leaves develops from the tuber at the surface of the soil, each of the two or three leaves being lanceolate in shape. Each leaf ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters in length and 20 to 35 millimeters in width. Leaves of younger plants are often more diminutive in size.
Piperia yadonii
Piperia yadonii
Piperia yadonii, also known as Yadon's Piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California...
exhibits a single veined flower one to two millimeters in width and a basal
Anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are designations employed in science that deal with the anatomy of animals to avoid ambiguities that might otherwise arise. They are not language-specific, and thus require no translation...
rosette
Rosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
leaf formation.
Selected species:
- Piperia candidaPiperia candidaPiperia candida is a species of orchid known by the common names whiteflower rein orchid, slender white piperia, and white-flowered piperia. It is native to western North America from Alaska to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it grows in coniferous forests and other habitat in coastal and inland...
- whiteflower rein orchid - Piperia colemaniiPiperia colemaniiPiperia colemanii is a rare species of orchid known by the common names Coleman's piperia and Coleman's rein orchid. It is endemic to California, where it is known from scattered occurrences along the Sierra Nevada and one disjunct location in Colusa County, California. It grows in coniferous...
- Coleman's rein orchid - Piperia cooperiPiperia cooperiPiperia cooperi is an uncommon species of orchid known by the common names Cooper's rein orchid and chaparral rein orchid. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it can be found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitat. This orchid grows erect to about 90 centimeters in...
- Cooper's rein orchid - Piperia elegansPiperia elegansPiperia elegans is a species of orchid known by several common names, including elegant piperia, coast piperia, hillside rein orchid, and hillside bogorchid. This is a showy flowering plant native to western North America. It grows from a caudex tuber and sends up a thick stem just under a meter...
- elegant rein orchid - Piperia elongataPiperia elongataPiperia elongata is a species of orchid known by the common name denseflower rein orchid. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Montana to southern California, where it grows in mountain forests and scrub habitat. This orchid grows erect to about 1.3 meters in maximum...
- denseflower rein orchid - Piperia leptopetalaPiperia leptopetalaPiperia leptopetala is a species of orchid known by the common names narrowpetal rein orchid and lacy rein orchid. It is native to the west coast of the United States from Washington to California, where it grows in scrub and woodland habitat in mountains and foothills. This orchid grows erect to...
- narrow-petal rein orchid - Piperia michaeliiPiperia michaeliiPiperia michaelii is an uncommon species of orchid known by the common names Michael's rein orchid and Michael's piperia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the coastal plains, hills, and mountains, and the Sierra Nevada foothills. It can be found in varied habitat, including...
- Michael's piperia - Piperia transversaPiperia transversaPiperia transversa is a species of orchid known by the common name royal rein orchid. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it can be found in forest, woodland, chaparral, and scrub habitat, often in dry areas. This orchid grows erect to about 55...
- royal rein orchid - Piperia unalascensisPiperia unalascensisPiperia unalascensis is a species of orchid known by the common names slenderspire orchid and Alaska piperia. It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to the southwestern United States, as well as eastern sections of Canada and the Great Lakes. It can be found in forest, woodland,...
- slenderspire rein orchid - Piperia yadoniiPiperia yadoniiPiperia yadonii, also known as Yadon's Piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California...
- Yadon's piperia