About Spiranthes diluvialis Sheviak
Spiranthes diluvialis Sheviak is a perennial terrestrial orchid that produces an erect stem between 20 and 62 centimeters tall. Its narrow, lance-shaped leaves grow around the base of the stem and can reach up to 28 centimeters in length. Its inflorescence forms a spiral of many flowers on a stalk covered in glandular hairs, and each flower has narrow white or ivory petals. The blooming period runs July through August, and sometimes extends into September or October. This orchid reproduces both sexually by seed and vegetatively by sprouting from broken root pieces. Its seeds are extremely dust-like, and a single plant can produce up to 100,000 individual seeds. Like other orchids, this species relies on mycorrhizal fungi to support seed germination. Its flowers are pollinated by bees in the genus Anthophora, especially Anthophora terminalis, as well as by bumblebees (Bombus spp.). This plant grows in moist wetland habitats, including bogs, riparian areas such as riverbanks, floodplains, lakeshores, riverside woodlands and forests, desert springs, meadows, and human-made habitats such as ditches, reservoirs, and irrigated agricultural areas. As of 2005, there were approximately 52 known occurrences of this species. Population size is difficult to count or estimate, because the plant spends most of its time in a vegetative or dormant state with few or no aboveground structures. Any abovegrowth may be hidden in dense surrounding vegetation, or hard to correctly identify, and individual plants can remain dormant underground for years at a time. Apparent larger population sizes on record are simply the result of more frequent, more intense survey work in those areas.
