Aplectrum
{{short description|Genus of plants}}
{{redirect|Adam-and-eve|other uses|Adam and Eve (disambiguation)}}
{{Speciesbox
|image=Aplectrum hyemale flower.JPG
|image_caption=Aplectrum hyemale
|status=G5
|status_system=TNC
|status_ref=
|display_parents=4
|genus=Aplectrum
|parent_authority=(Nutt.) Torr.
|species=hyemale
|authority=(Muhl. ex Willd.) Torr.
|range_map=Aplectrum Native Map.svg
|range_map_caption=State-level distribution of Aplectrum hyemale in the United States
|synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets=on|Cymbidium hyemale Muhl. ex Willd.
|Epidendrum hyemale (Muhl. ex Willd.) Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck
|Corallorhiza hyemalis (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt.
|Aplectra elatior Raf.
|Aplectrum spicatum Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
|Aplectrum shortii Rydb. in N.L.Britton
|Aplectrum spicatum var. pallidum House
|Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum (House) Barnhart
|Aplectrum hyemale f. pallidum (House) House
}}
}}
Aplectrum hyemale is a species of orchid native to the eastern United States and Canada, from Oklahoma east to the Carolinas and north to Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec and Massachusetts.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=12781 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families] It is particularly common in the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes Region, and the Ohio and Upper Mississippi Valleys. Isolated populations are also reported from Arizona.[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Aplectrum%20hyemale.png Biota of North America Program]
Aplectrum hyemale is the sole species of the genus Aplectrum. The generic name comes from Greek and signifies "spurless". The species is commonly referred to as Adam and Eve or putty root; the latter refers to the mucilaginous fluid which can be removed from the tubers when they are crushed, used by Native Americans to mend pottery.{{Cite book |last=Correll |first=D. S. |title=Native orchids of North America north of Mexico |date=1950 |publisher=Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.}}
Aplectrum hyemale spreads underground through the growth of its tubers, forming large colonies. The leaves appear in late November and persist until March. They are uniquely pin-striped, with parallel alternating silvery-white and green stripes. In late May or early June the flower stalk emerges carrying several flowers, each only a few millimeters across.[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220000960 Flora of North America v 26 p 632, Aplectrum hyemale (Muhlenburg ex Willdenow) Nuttall, Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 198. 1818. ] It is sometimes confused with Tipularia discolor, another orchid species that occurs in eastern North America.{{cite web |title=Aplectrum hyemale (Putty Root), Similar Species |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/123188-Aplectrum-hyemale |website=iNaturalist.org |accessdate=18 December 2018}}[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220013573 Flora of North America v 26 p 624, Tipularia discolor (Pursh) Nuttall, Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 195. 1818.]
There exists a color variation, Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum which differs in flower color.{{cite web |last1=Richburg |first1=Julie |title=Aplectrum hyemale |url=https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/documents/28/aplectrumhyemale.pdf |website=Native Plant Trust |publisher=New England Wild Flower Society |access-date=26 May 2021}}
Seeds and Germination
Aplectrum flowers are able to self-pollinate, thus are able to produce seeds asexually.{{Cite journal |date=August 1881 |title=Aplectrum hyemale |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/325504 |journal=Botanical Gazette |volume=6 |issue=8 |pages=248 |doi=10.1086/325504 |issn=0006-8071|url-access=subscription }} Aplectrum produces many dust like seeds and each contain minimal nutrient reserves.{{Cite journal |last=Whigham |first=Dennis F. |last2=O’Neill |first2=John P. |last3=Rasmussen |first3=Hanne N. |last4=Caldwell |first4=Bruce A. |last5=McCormick |first5=Melissa K. |date=2006-04-01 |title=Seed longevity in terrestrial orchids – Potential for persistent in situ seed banks |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320705004477 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=129 |issue=1 |pages=24–30 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2005.10.029 |issn=0006-3207|url-access=subscription }} Aplectrum seeds are a fraction of a millimeter in diameter{{Cite journal |last=Stevens |first=W. C. |last2=Dill |first2=Florence E. |date=1942 |title=Aplectrum Spicatum in a Kansas Woodland |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3624993?seq=4 |journal=Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science |volume=45 |pages=138–151 |doi=10.2307/3624993 |issn=0022-8443|url-access=subscription }} and are wind dispersed. Aplectrum seeds are difficult to germinate and propagate because they require a mycorrizal association.{{Cite journal |last=Lauzer |first=Denis |last2=Renaut |first2=Sébastien |last3=St-Arnaud |first3=Marc |last4=Barabé |first4=Denis |date=2007 |title=In vitro Asymbiotic Germination, Protocorm Development, and Plantlet Acclimatization of Aplectrum hyemale (Muhl. Ex Willd.) Torr. (Orchidaceae) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20063925?seq=1 |journal=The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society |volume=134 |issue=3 |pages=344–348 |issn=1095-5674}}
Pollination Biology
Little is known about the pollination of the Aplectrum. It flowers in the late spring{{Cite web |title=Aplectrum hyemale in Flora of North America @ efloras.org |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220000960 |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=www.efloras.org}} and the flowers lack nectar and does not attract many pollinators.{{Cite book |last=Haines |first=Arthur |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.12987/9780300184754/html |title=New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England |date=2011-11-08 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18475-4 |language=en |doi=10.12987/9780300184754}} Reported floral visitors include the bees Bombus separatus and Bombus americanorum.{{Cite journal |last=Auclair |first=Allan N. |date=1972 |title=Comparative Ecology of the Orchids Aplectrum hyemale and Orchis spectabilis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2484233?seq=6 |journal=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.2307/2484233 |issn=0040-9618|url-access=subscription }} Since there are very few pollinators of Aplectrum, it relies on autogamy (selfing).{{Cite journal |last=Haines |first=Arthur |date=2017-12-31 |title=New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae |url=https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300184754 |doi=10.12987/9780300184754|url-access=subscription }}
Predation and Herbivory
There are two know predators of Aplectrum. White Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) which maybe related to decline of Aplectrum in some areas.{{Cite web |title=Puttyroot Guide - New York Natural Heritage Program |url=https://guides.nynhp.org/puttyroot/ |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=guides.nynhp.org}} The second known potential predator is the Spur-Throated Grasshopper (Melanoplus acrophilus). This is the only known account of potential insect herbivory on Aplectrum.{{Cite journal |date=2017-09-01 |title=Potential Herbivory on the Wintergreen Orchids Aplectrum hyemale and Tipularia discolor by the Spur-Throated Grasshopper Melanoplus acrophilus |url=https://bioone.org/journals/southeastern-naturalist/volume-16/issue-3/058.016.0317/Potential-Herbivory-on-the-Wintergreen-Orchids-Aplectrum-hyemale-and-Tipularia/10.1656/058.016.0317.full |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=16 |issue=3 |doi=10.1656/058.016.0317 |issn=1528-7092|url-access=subscription }}{{Gallery
|Aplectrum hyemale leaf closeup.JPG|Leaf detail
|Aplectrum hyemale.jpg|Flower detail
|Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum.jpg|Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum
|Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum flower closeup.jpg|Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum flower detail
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons-inline|italic=1}}
- [http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Aplectrum+hyemale Plants For a Future]
- [http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=APHY Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas]
- {{Go Botany |genus=Aplectrum |species=hyemale |common=putty-root |link=1}}
- [http://www.ncwildflower.org/plants/details/aplectrum-hyemale/ North Carolina Native Plant Society]
- [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/Plants.asp?mode=detail&SpecCode=PMORC03010 Wisconsin State Department of Natural Resources]
- [http://www.jeffpippen.com/plants/aplectrum.htm North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs and Trees by Jeff Pippen]
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q20815|from2=Q150732}}
Category:Monotypic Epidendroideae genera