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Platanthera nivea

(Nutt.) Luer

Snowy Orchid

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

High - mediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.138992

Element CodePMORC1Y0H0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

CITESAppendix II

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassMonocotyledoneae

OrderOrchidales

FamilyOrchidaceae

GenusPlatanthera

Synonyms

Habenaria nivea(Nutt.) Spreng.

Other Common Names

Bog-spike (EN) snowy orchid (EN) Snowy Orchis (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2022-11-07

Change Date2022-11-07

Edition Date2022-11-04

Edition AuthorsSE Ranking Workshop (2022)

Threat ImpactHigh - medium

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 300

Rank Reasons

Platanthera nivea is an orchid that is endemic to the southeastern United States where it is nearly restricted to the southeastern Coastal Plain with some inland disjuncts. Historically, it occurred from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas and in Arkansas, Tennessee, and South Carolina. This species range is contracting at the periphery and known occurrences are increasingly isolated with local extirpations. Decades of fire suppression have led to a decline in habitat quality. Numerous extant occurrences may be secure on protected lands with appropriate management. Surveys of known occurrences, suitable habitat, and historical sites are needed to better understand the species' abundance, threats, and trends.

Range Extent Comments

Platanthera nivea is endemic to the southeastern United States where it is nearly restricted to the southeastern Coastal Plain. Historically, it occurred from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas with inland disjuncts in eastern Arkansas (historical), Tennessee (Coffee County), and western South Carolina (Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022). It is historical and potentially extirpated from Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Arkansas.

Occurrences Comments

There are between 21 and 80 extant occurrences, but possibly more. There are numerous historical occurrences that need to be revisited to confirm the species status. Photo-based observations, with obscured coordinates, need to be assessed to determine how many may represent occurrences not yet captured in this estimate. THre a

Threat Impact Comments

Highly threatened by land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, forest management practices, and lack of disturbance resulting in succession (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002). This species is reliant on frequent fire to maintain favorable habitat. Fire suppression may also be influenced by an increase in precipitation, regionally (T. Crabtree, pers. comm., 2022). Feral hogs are a concern at some sites in Louisiana (C. Doffitt, pers. comm., 2022), as they aggressively root in the soil, damaging plants along the way.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Platanthera nivea occurs in wet pine savannas and pine barrens, pine savannas, meadows, wet sandy woods, bogs, cypress swamps, and acid seepages at elevations of 0 to 500 m (Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022, FNA 2002a).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferSavannaGrassland/herbaceous

Palustrine Habitats

FORESTED WETLANDBog/fen

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN3

Province	Rank	Native
Tennessee	S1	Yes
North Carolina	SH	Yes
Florida	S3	Yes
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	SH	Yes
Alabama	S2	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes
Arkansas	SH	Yes
Georgia	S2	Yes
Mississippi	S3	Yes
Delaware	SH	Yes
South Carolina	S1	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Restricted (11-30%)	Extreme - serious	High (continuing)
7 - Natural system modifications	Large (31-70%)	Serious - moderate	High (continuing)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppression	Large (31-70%)	Serious - moderate	High (continuing)
7.1.2 - Suppression in fire frequency/intensity	Large (31-70%)	Serious - moderate	High (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.1.1 - Unspecified species	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather	Large (31-70%)	Unknown	High (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration	Large (31-70%)	Unknown	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (4)

Florida (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Gum Bay	Apalachicola National Forest	11,645
Long Bay	Apalachicola National Forest	5,726
Savannah	Apalachicola National Forest	1,927

Louisiana (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Cunningham Brake Research Natural Area	Kisatchie National Forest	1,797

References (9)

Crabtree, Todd. Personal communication. Botanist, Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation, Nashville, TN.
Doffitt, Chris. Personal communication. Botanist. Wildlife Diversity Program, LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Pineville, Louisiana.
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2002a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 26. Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxvi + 723 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
NatureServe. 2022. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC). 2022. Go Orchids. Online. Available:http://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/ (accessed 2022).
Southeastern Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need Workshop (SE RSGCN Workshop). 2022. Jon Ambrose, Keith Bradley, Malissa Briggler, John Burkhart, Emily Coffey, Todd Crabtree, Amanda Eberly, Margie Dent, Chris Doffitt, Bruce Hoagland, Amy Jenkins, Wesley Knapp, Stephanie Koontz, Lisa Kruse, David Lincicome, Gemma Milly, Sarah Norris, Carrie Radcliffe, Hanna Rosner-Katz, Al Schotz, Jason Singhurst, Diana Soteropoulos, Carlee Steppe, Samantha Tessel, John Townsend, Alan Weakley, Brenda Wichmann, and Theo Witsell. Status assessment workshop, Oct. 17-20, 2022, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA.
Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.
Weakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. 20 October 2020 Edition. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Platanthera nivea

Habitat

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