Listera australis Lindl. 1840 Photo by Jim Fowler and his P-Base Orchid North American Orchid Website
Another Plant Photo courtesy of Zachary Bradford
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Common Name The Southern Listera - Southern Twayblade
Flower Size to about 1/2" [to about 1.25 cm]
This cold to cool growing, miniature terrestrial species with 2 leaves is from the eastern and southern US and eastern Canada and is found in low moist woods, bogs and swamps and farther south in it's range in deep shade in wet woods where it blooms on an erect, to 4 1/2" [11.25 cm]long, lax, with few to many smaller flowers occuring in the late winter to the south and mid-summer in it's northern range. This species entire vegetative span to maturity is short, generally less than a month.
Synonyms Bifolium australe [Lindley] Niewland 1913; Calanthe australis Aiton ex Loudon 1850; Diphryllum australe [Lindl.] Kuntze 1891; Diphryllum bifolium Raf. 1808; Gyrostachys australis var. flexuosa (Sm.) Blume 1859; Listera australis f. trifolia P.M.Br. 1995; Neottia australis (Lindl.) Rchb. f. 1863; Neottia australis (Lindl.) Szlach. 1995; Neottia flexuosa Sm 1813; Ophrys australis [Lindley] House 1905; Spiranthes australis (Rchb. f.) Lindl. 1825; Spiranthes flexuosa (Sm.) Lindl. 1824
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Schlechteriana Vol 4 No 4 1993
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