BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Liparis loeselii
yellow widelip orchid
| Scientific Name: | Liparis loeselii (L.) L.C. Rich. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Name: | yellow widelip orchid | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - 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. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LIPALOE | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Jun 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3 (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | Loesel's Twaydlade is a glabrous, herbaceous perennial with naked stems that are up to 15 cm high arising from a bulb-like base. The two nearly erect, narrowly elliptic basal leaves are 5-15 cm long and have a broad petiole and a thickened midrib. Several flowers are borne on short stalks at the tops of the stem. Each white to greenish flower has 3 narrowly lance-shaped sepals that are 5-7 mm long, 2 nearly linear petals, and a strap-shaped lip petal that is 4-5 mm long and narrowed at the base. The petals and sepals are united together at the top of the curved, club-shaped ovary. The fruit is a narrowly elliptic capsule with numerous dust-like seeds. | ||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Diagnostic Characteristics: | L. LOESELII might be confused with species of HABENARIA, but flowers of the latter have a tubular spur and lack a short stalk. In addition, HABENARIA species that occur in our fens have leafy stems. Species of LISTERA usually do not occur in fens, and their two leaves are attached to the stem rather than being basal. | ||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Riparian / Riparian Herbaceous / Facultative - occasional use
Riparian / Riparian Shrub / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Fen / Obligate |
||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
| Pollen Vector: | |||||||||||
| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Nova Scotia to Alabama, west very sporadically to Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and Iowa (Washington Natural Heritage Program, 1981). Disjunct in Washington, Klickitat and San Juan Counties (Washington Natural Heritage Program, 1997). In British Columbia, known only from Mara Meadows Ecological Reserve (Douglas, 1989). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | JM | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Nov 06, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp. |
|||||||||||
Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 2001b. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 7, Monocotyledons (Orchidaceae through Zosteraceae). B.C. Minist. Sustainable Resour. Manage., and B.C. Minist. For. Victoria, BC. 379pp. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Liparis loeselii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).