Habenaria repens, commonly called the water-spider bog orchid or the floating orchid, is an orchid species widespread across Latin America from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina, as well as in the Southeastern United States from Texas and Oklahoma east to Florida and the Carolinas plus an isolated population in Virginia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesFlora of North America v 26 p 582, Habenaria repens Nuttall, Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 2: 190. 1818. Biota of North America Program, county distribution mapHammel, B.E. & al. (2003). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 3: 1-884. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.Gonzáles Tamayo, J.R. & Hernández Hernández, L. (2010). Las Orquídeas del occidente de México 1: 1-303. Coecytjal.Ferreira, A.W.C., Lima, M.I.S. & Pansarin, E.R. (2010). Orchidaceae na região central de São Paulo, Brasil. Rodriguésia; Revista do Instituto de Biologia Vegetal, Jardim Botânico e Estaçao Biologica do Itatiaya 61: 243-259.
A phenolic compound called habenariol can be found in H. repens. It acts as a feeding deterrent.
Varieties Two taxonomic varieties are accepted as of June 2014:
Habenaria repens var. maxillaris (Lindl.) Garay - Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia Habenaria repens var. repens - most of species range including those regions listed for var. maxillaris
References
External links
Aquatic and Invasive Plant Identification Series by the UF/IFAS at www.youtube.com plants.usda.gov plants.ifas.ufl.edu www.efloras.org