Cranefly Orchid
Tipularia discolor
Click or tap the section titles below to learn more about this species!
CLASSIFICATION: What’s in a name?
Scientific Name: Tipularia discolor. The genus name, Tipularia, refers to Tipuloidea, or craneflies, and the epithet, discolor, comes from Latin and means different-colored, referring to the leaves, which are green on top and purple underneath.
Common Name: Cranefly Orchid. This plant is named for the resemblance of its flowers to craneflies (Tipuloidea). Can you see it?
Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family). This is a very large plant family, especially diverse in tropical regions, well known for its often beautiful and exotic flowers. Familiar orchids include Phalaenopsis, commonly grown as houseplants, lady’s-slippers (Cypripedium), and vanilla (Vanilla). Orchids can easily be recognized by their unique flower structure, with a whorl of petals around the reproductive parts, and the bottom petal typically being broader, called a lip. The reproductive parts are few, and often fused into one part, the column. Instead of having lots of loose grains of pollen, they have a clump of it stuck together called a pollinium, which is meant to stick to a pollinator.10
IDENTIFICATION: What does it look like?
Average Height: 8-12 inches1
Description: A perennial herbaceous plant with a single leaf which grows from fall through spring, oval and broadest below the middle, with a purple underside. Sometimes these leaves have raised bumps scattered on the surface.9 In summer when the plant is leafless, it sends up a flower stalk with many small pale purplish or greenish flowers resembling craneflies or mosquitoes in structure. In fall, after fertilization, they are replaced by pods containing large numbers of dustlike seeds.1
Bloom time: Jul – Sep
Notes: Tipularia discolor is unusual in that its leaves emerge in fall and die back in spring and summer, the opposite of most plants!5 This is an excellent adaptation for living in the understory of dense, shady forests, as the plant can gather lots of sunlight when there are no leaves on the trees.6 Another native orchid, puttyroot (Aplectrum hyemale), also does this, but can be distinguished by its larger leaves broadest at the middle with many white veins running the length of the leaf, and by flowering in spring (vs. mid-late summer). The leaf undersides are also much less purple than most examples of Tipularia.
LOCATION: Where is it at home?
Range: Widespread across the southeastern United States, ranging north to Michigan and Massachusetts, and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma.2 In Virginia, it is widespread and common in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont, and less common in the mountains (low elevations only).8
Geology/Soil: Not particular about soil chemistry, but absent from soils which are excessively wet or dry.
Habitat: Found in a variety of moist to fairly dry upland forests.9
CONNECTIONS: What are its relationships to other plants, animals, and humans?
Flora associations: Occurs with a wide variety of plant species in moist forests in Virginia, including white oak (Quercus alba), northern red oak (Q. rubra), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), red maple (Acer rubrum), American holly (Ilex opaca), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), strawberry-bush (Euonymus americanus), and bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis).
Fauna associations: The unusual flowers of Tipularia discolor are pollinated by moths! The pale coloration makes them visible to these nocturnal pollinators, and the structure of the flowers is such that the pollinium gets stuck to the eyes of visiting moths! Species documented on Tipularia discolor include the true armyworm moth (Mythimna unipuncta), red twin-spot (Xanthorhoe ferrugata), and the porcelain gray (Protoboarmia porcelaria).4,5
Human associations: No human uses are known for Tipularia discolor.
We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!
Bibliography & Definitions
1 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press.
2 Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. Taxonomic Data Center. (http://www.bonap.net/tdc). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)]
3 “Pollinium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pollinium. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
4 Hilty, John . “Cranefly Orchid.” Illinoiswildflowers.info, 2025, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/flower_insects/plants/cranefly_orchid.htm. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
5 Hooks, Susan. “Crane-Fly Orchid.” Usda.gov, 2024, www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/tipularia_discolor.shtml.
6 In Defense of Plants. “The Cranefly Orchid.” In Defense of Plants, 20 July 2016, www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/7/20/the-cranefly-orchid-tipularia-discolor. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
7 “SEINet Portal Network – Tipularia Discolor.” Swbiodiversity.org, 2025, swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=121040&clid=2967. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
8 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Tipularia Discolor (Pursh) Nutt.” Vaplantatlas.org, 2025, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=1106&search=Search. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
9 Weakley, A.S., and SE Flora Team. “Tipularia Discolor (Cranefly Orchid) – FSUS.” Unc.edu, 2024, fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-taxon.php&&plantname=tipularia&limit=1&offset=1&taxonid=827. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
10 “Orchid – Characteristic Morphological Features.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/plant/orchid/Characteristic-morphological-features.
Definitions:
Column: The fused reproductive parts of an orchid flower.
Pollinium: A bundle of pollen produced by orchids, designed to stick to pollinating insects.