Tipularia spp.

cranefly orchid

Orchidaceae Eastern North America and East Asia

Attracts Pollinators

Native to North America

SunPart Shade – Full Shade

WaterMedium

HardinessZones 5–9

Overview

Tipularia spp. is a small genus of terrestrial orchids, with around three to seven species split between eastern North America and temperate East Asia. The North American T. discolor, called cranefly orchid, is the most familiar. Each plant grows from a chain of underground corms and produces a single leaf in autumn that persists through winter, dark green above and flushed purple beneath, then withers in late spring before the flower stem appears. The leafless flowering spike rises 8-20 inches (20-50 cm) in mid to late summer and carries 20 to 40 small, asymmetric flowers in translucent green, bronze, and dull purple, each with a slender spur and a narrow lip that suggests the dangling legs of a cranefly. The flowers are set off-centre on their stalks, an arrangement matched in few other orchids. Night-flying moths pollinate them. Plants grow in the deep leaf litter of oak and beech woodland and depend on soil fungi for nutrition, which makes them slow to establish and seldom successful in ordinary garden soil. The Asian species follow a similar winter-leaf, summer-flower cycle.

Native Range

Native to two widely separated regions: the south-eastern and eastern United States, where T. discolor ranges from Florida to New England, and temperate East Asia, including Japan, China, and the eastern Himalaya.

Suggested Uses

Grown in shaded native woodland and naturalistic plantings where its winter leaf and leafless summer flowers can be observed. It is used in conservation and native-orchid collections rather than as a bedding plant.

How to Identify

Identified outside the flowering season by a solitary ground-hugging leaf, green above and purple below, present through winter and gone by summer. The summer flower spike is leafless and bears many small, lopsided greenish-purple flowers, each with a thin spur. The off-centre, asymmetric flowers and the single overwintering leaf together separate Tipularia spp. from other woodland orchids.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height8" - 1'8"

Width/Spread4" - 8"

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~3 weeks

Summer Fall

Flowering occurs from mid summer to early autumn, after the winter leaf has died away, so the flower stem stands alone. Each spike opens its flowers over two to three weeks. Pollination is by night-flying moths.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

green, bronze, and dull purple

Foliage Description

dark green above, purple beneath

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunPartial Shade SunFull Shade

Tolerates up to 4 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range4.5 - 6.5(Acidic)

357912

Soil Types

loam peat

Drainagemoist

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Frost Tolerance

hardy

Time to Maturity

several years from seed

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

This is a woodland orchid of acidic, humus-laden soils with a pH near 4.5 to 6.5, in part to full shade beneath deciduous trees. Constant cool moisture and an undisturbed blanket of leaf litter suit it, since the corms sit just below the surface. The genus depends on specific soil fungi and transplants poorly, so wild plants rarely survive being moved and nursery propagation is limited. Where it is established, no feeding is required beyond the natural breakdown of leaf litter. T. discolor is hardy through zones 5 to 9. It is grown chiefly by native-plant enthusiasts rather than in general borders.

Pruning

No pruning is practised. The flower stem is left to set seed and dies back naturally, and the winter leaf is left in place until it withers in spring. Disturbing the leaf litter or the shallow corms sets plants back.