Orchidaceae
Cleistesiopsis

Cleistesiopsis bifaria (Fernald) Pansarin & F.Barros

First published in Kew Bull. 63: 446 (2008 publ. 2009)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is West Virginia to SE. U.S.A. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Pansarin, E.R. & de Barros, F. (2008). Taxonomic notes on Pogonieae (Orchidaceae): Cleistesiopsis, a new genus segregated from Cleistes, and description of two new South American species, Cleistes batistana and C. elongata. Kew Bulletin 63: 441.

Type
North Carolina: Burke Co.: Summit of Table-Rock Mountain, 2 July 1891 Small & Heller 285 (holotype GH; isotype NY!).
Morphology General Habit
Flowering plants in general 13 – 50 cm tall
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 4 – 14 × 0.5 – 2.5 cm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals 25 – 52 × 2.5 – 5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 22 – 33 × 6 – 11 mm Lip 2.2 – 3.5 × 1.2 – 1.5 cm with a thick central crest very slightly grooved, groove deep and verrucose or brain-like with discontinuous ridges
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Column
Column 1.5 – 1.9 cm.
Distribution
Occurring in the acid soils of savannas, meadows, open areas in oak or pine woodlands, mountain habitat, often xeric, (between 0 – 1000 m a.s.l.). Cleistesiopsis bifaria is distributed in North America
Note
Cleistesiopsis bifaria has been treated as a variety of Cleistesiopsis divaricata (as Cleistes divaricata), which has been raised to species level by Catling & Gregg (1992). According to these authors Cleistesiopsis bifaria is separated from C. divaricata by the relatively shorter column and lip, which is correlated with the relatively small size of the other floral parts, differences in lip keel, and some degree of geographic and phenologic isolation. Where the ranges of both species overlap, Cleistesiopsis bifaria blooms earlier than C. divaricata, which also produces a different floral fragrance (Catling & Gregg 1992).
[KBu]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Bulletin

    • Kew Bulletin
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0