Spiranthes lacera, commonly called the slender ladies'-tresses, is a species of orchid that is native to Eastern North America. It has a widespread range and is found in a variety of open habitats, both natural and disturbed. It produces a spiral of white flowers in the summer. There are two varieties recognized:http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101954 Spiranthes lacera in Flora of North America S. lacera var. gracilis - Southern slender ladies' tresses, flowers more densely arranged in spiral, blooming later (late-July through August). Plant hairless and leaves usually absent at flowering. S. lacera var. lacera - Northern slender ladies' tresses, flowers more loosely arranged in spiral, blooming earlier (mid-July). Plant hairy and leaves usually present at flowering.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Spiranthes lacera has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens7
Marker genes3
eDNA detections5
Countries2
Marker genes sequenced
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★rbcLa★ITS★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB
The complete instruction manualSpiranthes lacera carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin9.84 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type2 091 records
Wild obs. + sensor1 477
Museum / vouchered614
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO6 528 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy65% within 1 km
≤100 m 685≤1 km 115≤10 km 45>10 km 389
1 234 georeferenced · 243 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor1 477
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy26% within 1 km
≤100 m 9≤1 km 53≤10 km 154>10 km 25
241 georeferenced · 373 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence614
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions39 of 53 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Philadelphia, US
105
Acadia Universitylocation not on record
80
Saint Louis, US
58
Bronx, US
40
Ann Arbor, US
34
South Kensington, GB
21
Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record
20
Québec, CA
19
International Salmonella Centre (W.H.O.)location not on record
19
Saint John, CA
16
Université Lavallocation not on record
15
Montréal, CA
15
Madison, US
12
Toronto, CA
12
Tampa, US
12
Chicago, US
8
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
6
Millersville, US
5
WINlocation not on record
5
Green Bay, US
5
Christchurch, NZ
3
GB
3
Blacksburg, US
3
Allentown, US
2
Montréal, CA
2
Fort Worth, US
2
University of Guelph, OAC Herbariumlocation not on record
2
Chicago, US
2
Springfield, US
2
Pittsburg, US
1
Philadelphia, US
1
Clemson, US
1
Columbia, US
1
US
1
Miami, US
1
University of Lethbridgelocation not on record
1
Elikins, US
1
Kirksville, US
1
Ypsilanti, US
1
Denver, US
1
Dekalb, US
1
University of Tennessee at Chattanoogalocation not on record
1
Provo, US
1
Albuquerque, US
1
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduraslocation not on record
1
University of Alberta Museumslocation not on record
1
Flagstaff, US
1
Austin, US
1
Bloomington, US
1
Springfield, US
1
Maryland Department of Natural Resourceslocation not on record
1
Lord Fairfax Community Collegelocation not on record
1
Musee des Dinosaures d'Esperaza (Aude)location not on record
1
53 institutions · 552 of 614 vouchered records shown · 62 without an institution code
09Environmental DNA5 detections
Where the DNA of Spiranthes lacera was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found5
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 5 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median17.0 °C 16.0–17.9
Seasonal swing summer↔winter31.1 °C
Max temp (day)20.6 °C 18.2–23.0
Min temp (night)14.5 °C
Precipitation76.2 mm/mo 75.7–76.8
Air humidity58.9 % 57.9–59.9
Vapour deficit799 Pa 730–868
Cloud cover48.5 % 43.1–54.0
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 2 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation2 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility2 091 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI5 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics7 specimens↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype