Malaxis unifolia, or the green adder's-mouth orchid,[2] is a species of orchid occurring from eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland to Manitoba),[3] the central and eastern United States (Maine to Florida, west as far as Minnesota, eastern Kansas, and eastern Texas),[4] Mexico,[5] Central America and the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic).[6][7][8]

Malaxis unifolia
1829 illustration[1]

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Malaxis
Species:
M. unifolia
Binomial name
Malaxis unifolia
Michx. 1803
Synonyms
  • Orchis ophioglossoides Walter
  • Malaxis ophioglossoides Muhl. ex Willd.
  • Achroanthes unifolia (Michx.) Raf.
  • Microstylis ophioglossoides (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt. ex Eaton
  • Prescottia ophioglossoides (Muhl. ex Willd.) Spreng.
  • Microstylis ophioglossoides var. mexicana Lindl.
  • Achroanthes laxiflora Raf.
  • Achroanthes obtusifolia Raf.
  • Malaxis thlaspiformis A.Rich. & Galeotti
  • Microstylis unifolia (Michx.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
  • Microstylis grisebachiana Fawc. & Rendle
  • Malaxis grisebachiana (Fawc. & Rendle) Fawc. & Rendle
  • Malaxis unifolia f. bifolia Mousley
  • Malaxis unifolia f. variegata Mousley
  • Malaxis amplexicolumna E.W.Greenw. & R.Gonzál
Malaxis unifolia in southern Cumberlands

Malaxis unifolia generally has only one leaf, but rarely two. Flowers are green, in a raceme, often resembling an umbel at first before it elongates.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ M. Hart del., J. Watts sc. - Edwards's Botanical Register, volume 15 plate 1290
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Malaxis unifolia​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. ^ Biota of North America Program, 2014 state-level distribution map
  4. ^ Biota of North America Program, 2014 county distribution map
  5. ^ SEINet, Southwestern biodiversity, Arizona chapter
  6. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  7. ^ a b Flora of North America, Malaxis unifolia
  8. ^ Ames, O. & D. S. Correll. 1952. Orchids of Guatemala. Fieldiana, Botany 26(1): i–xiii, 1–395