''Piperia'' is a former

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

within the orchid family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

that has since been subsumed under ''

Platanthera The genus ''Platanthera'' belongs to the subfamily Orchidoideae of the family Orchidaceae, and comprises about 150 species of orchids. The members of this genus, known as the butterfly orchids or fringed orchids, were previously included in the ...

''. These plants are known as rein orchids. They are native to western North America, especially

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. This former genus has the following characteristics: (a) a

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

nongreen plant that grows from buried

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s; fruit capsule bearing numerous minute seeds; (c)

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

that is sticky, and which is removed as

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

anther

sacs SACS may refer to: * SACS, a finite element analysis software by Bentley Systems * SACS (gene), a human gene that encodes the protein Sacsin * The South Atlantic Cable System, a transoceanic submarine communications cable * Saint Alphonsus Cathol ...

; and (d) stigma fused with its

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

into a column. There were a total of ten species in the genus ''Piperia'', which is named for American botanist

Charles V. Piper Charles Vancouver Piper (16 June 1867 – 11 February 1926) was an American botanist and agriculturalist. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he spent his youth in Seattle, Washington Territory and graduated from the University of Was ...

. The genus members manifest generally cylindrical spikes or

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

s. The subsurface architecture of these terrestrial wild orchids consists of a rhizome structure, from which emanate

s. The rhizome extracts nutrients from fungal intermediates and may also store some of these nutrients. A basal rosette of leaves develops from the tuber at the surface of the soil, each of the two or three leaves being

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regula ...

in shape.Morgan & Ackerman, Lindleyana 5:205–211 (1990) Each leaf ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters in length and 20 to 35 millimeters in width. Leaves of younger plants are often more diminutive in size. Below are the ten former species of ''Piperia'' and their currently accepted names: * ''Piperia candida'' - '' Platanthera ephemerantha'' * ''Piperia colemanii -

Platanthera colemanii ''Platanthera colemanii'' is a rare species of orchid known by the common names Coleman's piperia and Coleman's rein orchid. It is endemic to California, where it is known from scattered occurrences along the Sierra Nevada and one disjunct locat ...

'' * ''Piperia cooperi -

Platanthera cooperi ''Platanthera cooperi'' is an uncommon species of orchid known by the common names Cooper's rein orchid and chaparral rein orchid. Distribution The orchid is endemic to chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland habitats. It is native to so ...

'' * ''Piperia elegans -

Platanthera elegans ''Platanthera elegans'' is a species of orchid known by several common names, including elegant piperia, coast piperia, hillside rein orchid, and hillside bogorchid. This is a showy flowering plant native to western North America. It grows from ...

'' * ''Piperia elongata - Platanthera elongata'' * ''Piperia leptopetala - Platanthera leptopetala'' * ''Piperia michaelii - Platanthera michaelii'' * ''Piperia transversa - Platanthera transversa'' * ''Piperia unalascensis - Platanthera unalascensis'' * ''Piperia yadonii -

Platanthera yadonii ''Platanthera yadonii'', also known as Yadon's piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California. In 1998 this plant was designated as an endangered ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3308338 Historically recognized angiosperm genera Orchid genera