Piperia

Piperia
Scientific Classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family:Orchidaceae Subfamily: Orchidoideae Tribe: Orchideae SubTribe: Orchidinae Alliance: Genus: Piperia Rydb. 1901 Type Species Piperia elegans

Piperia is a genus of the orchid family Orchidaceae.

Distribution

The genus is composed of eight species distributed from Russia through North America.

Description

This genus has the following characteristics:

• a bisexual perennial nongreen plant that grows from buried tubers
• fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds
• pollen that is sticky, and which is removed as sessile anther sacs
• stigma fused with its style into a column.

The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or racemes.

The subsurface architecture of these terrestrial wild orchids consists of a rhizome structure, from which emanate tubers. 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.

Naming

This genus was named after American agronomist Charles Vancouver Piper.

Species

• Piperia candida Rand.Morgan & Ackerman, 1990.
• Piperia colemanii Rand.Morgan & Glic., 1993.
• Piperia cooperi (S.Watson) Rydb., 1901.
• Piperia dilatata (Pursh) Szlach. & Rutk., 2000.
  • Piperia dilatata var. albiflora (Cham.) Szlach. & Rutk.,2000.
  • Piperia dilatata var. dilatata.
  • Piperia dilatata var. leucostachys (Lindl.) Szlach. & Rutk., 2000.
• Piperia elegans (Lindl.) Rydb., 1901.
  • Piperia elegans subsp. decurtata Rand.Morgan & Glic., 1993.
  • Piperia elegans subsp. elegans.
• Piperia elongata Rydb., 1901.
  • Piperia elongata subsp. elongata.
  • Piperia elongata subsp. michaelii (Greene) Ackerman, 1977 publ. 1878.
• Piperia leptopetala Rydb., 1901.
• Piperia transversa Suksd., 1906.
• Piperia unalascensis (Spreng.) Rydb., 1901.
• Piperia yadonii Rand.Morgan & Ackerman, 1990.