Epipactis gigantea

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Epidendroideae
Tribus: Neottieae
Genus: Epipactis
Species: Epipactis gigantea
Name

Epipactis gigantea Douglas ex Hook., Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 202 (1839)
Synonymy

Homotypic
Limodorum giganteum (Douglas ex Hook.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 671 (1891), nom. illeg.
Peramium giganteum (Douglas ex Hook.) J.M.Coult., Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 2: 424 (1894)
Serapias gigantea (Douglas ex Hook.) A.A.Eaton, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 21: 67 (1908)
Helleborine gigantea (Douglas ex Hook.) Druce, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 547 (1909)
Amesia gigantea (Douglas ex Hook.) A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr., Bot. Gaz. 56: 472 (1913)
Arthrochilium giganteum (Douglas ex Hook.) Szlach., Die Orchidee (Hamburg) 54: 588 (2003)
Heterotypic
Epipactis americana Lindl., Ann. Nat. Hist. 4: 385 (1840)
Epipactis pringlei Gand., Bull. Soc. Bot. France 66: 293 (1919 publ. 1920)
Cephalanthera kokanica Regel ex Nevski in V.L.Komarov (ed.), Fl. URSS 4: 622 (1935), pro syn.
Epipactis gigantea f. rubrifolia P.M.Br., N. Amer. Native Orchid J. 1: 287 (1995)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Northern America
Western Canada
British Columbia.
Northwestern U.S.A.
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.
North-Central U.S.A.
Oklahoma, South Dakota.
Southwestern U.S.A.
Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah.
South-Central U.S.A.
New Mexico, Texas.
Mexico
Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Douglas, D. ex Hooker, W.J. 1839. Flora Boreali-Americana 2: 202, pl. 202.

Links

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2022. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Epipactis gigantea. Accessed: 2022 Jan 8.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Epipactis gigantea in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 8. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Epipactis gigantea in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 8. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Epipactis gigantea. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 8. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Epipactis gigantea. Published online. Accessed: 8 Jan 2022.
Tropicos.org 2022. Epipactis gigantea. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 8 Jan 2022.

Vernacular names

English: Stream orchid
Diné bizaad: Chʼał nineezí bidą́ą́ʼ
русский: Дремлик гигантский

Epipactis gigantea is a species of orchid known as the stream orchid, giant helleborine, and chatterbox. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to central Mexico.[1] This is one of the most abundant orchids of the Pacific coast of North America.[2]

Description

Epipactis gigantea is an erect perennial reaching anywhere from 30 centimeters to one meter in height. Its stems have prominently-veined, wide or narrow lance-shaped leaves 5 to 15 centimeters long and inflorescences of two or three showy orchids near the top. Each flower has three straight sepals which are light brownish or greenish with darker veining, each one to two centimeters long. The two top petals are similar in shape and reddish-brown with purple veins. The lowest petal is cup-shaped with a pointed, tongue-like protuberance and is brighter red-brown and more starkly veined, often with areas of yellow. The fruit is a hanging capsule 2 or 3 centimeters long which contains thousands of tiny seeds. This plant grows in wet areas in a variety of habitats, including riverbanks, hot springs, and meadows at elevations between 2800 and 8000 feet. Unlike some of its relatives, this species is an autotroph. A distinctive race with burgundy colored foliage is known from The Cedars in Sonoma County California, an area of serpentine rock, and it is called forma rubrifolia (P M Brown).
Cultivation
Epipactis gigantea is cultivated in the specialty horticulture trade and available as a non-wild collected propagated ornamental plant. A maroon-leaved (forma rubrifolia) cultivar is also grown, called 'Serpentine Night'.

References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families

Flora of North America, v 26 p 585, Epipactis gigantea

C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010. Epipactis gigantea - Encyclopedia of Life
Jepson Manual Treatment - Epipactis gigantea