Galearis rotundifolia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Orchidaceae
Subfamilia: Orchidoideae
Tribus: Orchideae
Subtribus: Orchidinae
Genus: Galearis
Species: Galearis rotundifolia
Name

Galearis rotundifolia (Banks ex Pursh) R.M.Bateman, Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 104: 439 (2009)
Synonymy

Basionym
Orchis rotundifolia Banks ex Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 588 (1813)
Homotypic
Habenaria rotundifolia (Banks exPursh) Richardson, Bot. App.: 750 (1823)
Habenaria rotundifolia (Banks exPursh) Lindl., Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 306 (1835)
Platanthera rotundifolia (Banks exPursh) Lindl., Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 292 (1835)
Ponerorchis rotundifolia (Banks exPursh) Soó, Acta Bot. Acad. Sci. Hung. 12: 353 (1966)
Amerorchis rotundifolia (Banks exPursh) Hultén, Ark. Bot., a.s., 7(1): 34 (1967 publ. 1968)
Heterotypic
Orchis grandiflora B.Heyne ex Wall., Numer. List: n.º 7032 (1832), nom. nud.
Orchis rotundifolia var. lineata Mousley, Canad. Field-Naturalist 55: 65 (1941)
Orchis rotundifolia f. angustifolia J.Rousseau, Bull. Jard. Bot. État Bruxelles 27: 371 (1957)
Orchis rotundifolia f. beckettii B.Boivin, Naturaliste Canad. 87: 42 (1960)
Orchis rotundifolia f. lineata (Mousley) E.G.Voss, Rhodora 68: 462 (1966).
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. beckettii (B.Boivin) Hultén, Ark. Bot., a.s., 7(1): 34 (1967 publ. 1968)
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. lineata (Mousley) Hultén, Ark. Bot., a.s., 7(1): 35 (1967 publ. 1968)
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. immaculata Mazurski & Laur.P.Johnson, Lindleyana 10: 1 (1995)
Amerorchis rotundifolia var. lineata (Mousley) W.J.Schrenk, Die Orchidee (Hamburg) 28: 98 (1997)
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. rosea P.M.Br., N. Amer. Native Orchid J. 10: 34 (2004 publ. 2005)
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. wardii P.M.Br., N. Amer. Native Orchid J. 10: 34 (2004 publ. 2005)
Amerorchis rotundifolia f. angustifolia (J.Rousseau) P.M.Br., Wild Orchids Canad. Marit. & N. Gr. Lakes: 284 (2006)

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Northern America
Subarctic America
Alaska, Greenland, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon.
Western Canada
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan.
Eastern Canada
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Ontario, Québec.
Northwestern U.S.A.
Montana, Wyoming.
North-Central U.S.A.
Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Northeastern U.S.A.
Maine, Michigan, New York, Vermont.

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

Bateman, R.M. (2009. Annals of Botany. Oxford 104(3): 439.

Links

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2022. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Galearis rotundifolia. Accessed: 2022 Jan 5.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Galearis rotundifolia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 5. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Galearis rotundifolia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Jan 5. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Galearis rotundifolia. 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 5. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Galearis rotundifolia. Published online. Accessed: 5 Jan 2022.
Tropicos.org 2022. Galearis rotundifolia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 5 Jan 2022.

Vernacular names

Deutsch: Rundblättriges Knabenkraut
English: Small round-leaved orchis
français: Orchis à feuille ronde

Galearis rotundifolia is a species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is commonly called roundleaf orchis and small round-leaved orchid. It is a succulent perennial herb native to North America, where it occurs throughout Canada, part of the northern United States, and Greenland[2].[1][3]

Description
Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Galearis rotundifolia is a succulent perennial herb growing from a fleshy rhizome. It reaches a maximum height around 33 centimeters. A single leaf clasps the base of the stem. It is variable in shape and size, reaching up to 11 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a spike of flowers and leaflike bracts occupying the top of the stem.[3] The plant produces up to 18 flowers at a time.[4] The flower has six tepals in shades of white or light magenta; three are sepals up to a centimeter long, and three are shorter, narrower petals. The spurred, lobed lip of the middle petal is white with magenta spots and sometimes bars. Flowers bloom June to July. There are two pollinaria, which bear the sticky pollen. The fruit is a capsule.[3]
Distribution

Galearis rotundifolia is native to northern North America, where it is widespread and most abundant at the northern latitudes. It occurs in nearly all of the provinces of Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and the northernmost contiguous United States, including Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Idaho, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.[4][5]
Habitat

Galearis rotundifolia occurs in arctic and boreal climates. In the northern part of its range it is scattered in several habitat types, and in the southern part it is less common and mainly restricted to moist, shady areas. In the Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, for example, it can be found along steams and in wet but well-drained limestone soils in shady spruce forests and woods. It is a glacial relict species.[4][6]

The most important factor in appropriate habitat is a cold substrate.[4] In northern regions it can grow in full sun, while in southern areas it requires shelter. It is sometimes a dwarf plant in exposed areas on tundra. The substrate is usually also moist to wet, but not waterlogged. It is an obligate wetland species in southern areas, and a facultative wetland plant farther north. It also requires calcareous soils with a neutral pH, tolerating only slight acidity.[4]
Biology

Galearis rotundifolia usually reproduces sexually by seed, but it reportedly undergoes vegetative reproduction at times via rhizome or stolon, or perhaps when a ramet is separated from a clonal colony.[4]

The flowers are pollinated by insects. In a survey of pollinators in Alberta, the primary pollinator was Osmia proxima, a mason bee. Other pollinators included several hoverflies, such as Eriozona laxus, Eristalis hirta, Eristalis rupium, and Eupeodes lapponicus. The insects were observed probing the flower spur with their mouthparts and then getting the sticky pollen wads stuck on their heads as they pushed into the flower.[7] The tiny, light seeds are dispersed on the wind.[4]

Like other orchids, the plant has mycorrhizal associations with fungi in its root system.[4]
Conservation

In general, Galearis rotundifolia is a widespread and secure species, especially in Canada. It becomes rare on the southern fringes of its range. Threats to the species include over-collection by orchid hunters and poaching of the plant for use as an herbal remedy.[4]
References

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Grønlands flora. Tyge Wittrock Böcher (3. reviderede udgave ed.). København: P. Haase & Sons. 1978. ISBN 87-559-0385-1. OCLC 183098604.
Amerorchis rotundifolia. Flora of North America.
Handley, J. and B. Heidel. Amerorchis rotundifolia (Banks ex Pursh) Hultén (roundleaf orchid): A Technical Conservation Assessment. Species Conservation Project. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region. February 25, 2005.
US Department of Agriculture plant profile
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Endangered Resources, Round-leaved Orchis (Amerorchis rotundifolia)

Catling, P. M. and B. Kostiuk. (2011). Some observations on the pollination of round-Leaf orchid, Galearis (Amerorchis) rotundifolia, near Jasper, Alberta. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 125(1), 47-54.

Bibliography

Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2001). Orchidoideae (Part 1). Genera Orchidacearum 2: 290 ff. Oxford University Press.
Berg Pana, H. (2005). Handbuch der Orchideen-Namen. Dictionary of Orchid Names. Dizionario dei nomi delle orchidee. Ulmer, Stuttgart.