Piperia leptopetala

Narrow-petaled rein-orchid, Narrow-Petaled Rein-Orchid

Family: Orchidaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Narrow-petaled rein-orchid is a native perennial orchid found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, southern Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in dry scrub and woodland habitats at elevations up to 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to July, this orchid produces green flowers with a lemony fragrance, featuring narrow linear lateral petals and a small pointed lip. Growing 13 to 70 centimeters tall with an open, slender inflorescence, the plant has distinctive basal leaves 6.5 to 15 centimeters long and 15 to 30 millimeters wide. Its flowers have a unique structure with an upper sepal that curves back and lateral petals just 1 millimeter wide at the base, spreading or standing erect. The orchid's delicate spur is 4 to 9 millimeters long, tapered, curved, and pointed downward.

Habitat: Generally dry sites, scrub, woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoR, CaR, SN, SnFrB, SCoR, TR, PR

California counties: San Bernardino, Lake, Monterey, Plumas, Riverside, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Butte, Shasta, Orange, Napa, Siskiyou, Sonoma, El Dorado, Nevada, Colusa, San Benito, Los Angeles

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.