Habenaria repens
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- hab-en-AR-ee-uh REE-penz
- Description
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Water-spider Orchid is a native perennial orchid found in wet areas, blackwater swamps, pools, banks of creeks, rivers, and other riparian areas in North Carolina south to Florida, west to southeastern Arkansas and Texas and into tropical America. It can be both terrestrial or aquatic and can form floating mats in stagnant pools. It spreads by stolons and can be vigorous especially in wet conditions.
The flowers repeat bloom summer through fall and emit a strong vanilla fragrance at night to attract moths for pollination. This plant is difficult to transplant, and "nursery-grown" plants are often poached from the wild, so verify that plants are nursery propagated before purchasing.
This plant needs moist to wet conditions with acidic soil. It will grow well in a bog among pitcher plants, margins of ponds, streams, lakes or in a container.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Habenaria
- Species:
- repens
- Family:
- Orchidaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Central and southeastern U.S.A., tropical America
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Herbaceous Perennial
- Native Plant
- Water Plant
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Spreading
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Green
- Insignificant
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Winter
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Description:
- Fruits are available September-December.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Star
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- 10-30 3/4 inch flowers in a dense raceme. The sepals are light green and the petals and lip of each flower are a greenish-white. The labellum is lobed with a spur and the individual flowers look spider-like. Blooms sporatically June-November.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Produces 3-8 yellow-green leaves that gradually reduce in size towards the top of the stem. 10 inches long, and 1 inch wide.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Container
- Pond
- Riparian
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Water Garden
- Attracts:
- Moths
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Heat
- Wet Soil
