Triphora trianthophoros(Sw.) Rydb.

WFO wfo-1000052489 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Samuel A Schmid, PhD, PWS
fig. a Samuel A Schmid, PhD, PWS, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-18 / obs. 164302040
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Bonnie Isaac
fig. b Bonnie Isaac, CC0 1.0 / obs. 149373364
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Elias
fig. c Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 148753816
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Elias
fig. d Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 148619479
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Bonnie Isaac
fig. e Bonnie Isaac, CC0 1.0 / obs. 93173178
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Will Kuhn
fig. f Will Kuhn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 88558913
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by Laura J. Costello
fig. g Laura J. Costello, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 30177110
Triphora trianthophoros, photographed by er-birds
fig. h er-birds, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 148774253

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 46 botanical countries

Regions where Triphora trianthophoros is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras AlabamaArkansasConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMichiganMississippiMissouriNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOklahomaOntarioPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsinCosta RicaEl SalvadorGuatemalaHonduras DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Triphora trianthophoros, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Nebraska NEB
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Costa Rica COS SOUTHERN AMERICA
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Honduras HON

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 9 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Arethusa pendula Muhl. ex Willd.
  • Arethusa trianthophoros Sw.
  • Pogonia trianthophoros (Sw.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
  • Triphora pendula (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt.
  • Triphora trianthophora f. albidoflava P.E.Keenan
  • Triphora trianthophoros f. caerulea P.M.Br.
  • Triphora trianthophoros f. rossii P.M.Br.
  • Triphora trianthophoros var. schaffneri Camp
  • Triphora trianthophoros var. texensis P.M.Br. & Rich.B.Pike

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.