Mississippi River Wakerobin

Description

The plant is brown colored with horizontal rhizomes and bracts. It carries 1-2 scapes which are 0.8-2.8 decimetres (3.1-11.0 in) from green to maroon colored and are round at cross section. Leaves are either light or bronze-green in color. Sepals are located above the bracts and are green colored, horizontal, and lanceolate. They are 16-40 millimetres (0.63-1.57 in) long and 4-6 millimetres (0.16-0.24 in) wide and are thick. Petals are erect while apex is acute. Flaments are 3-6 millimetres (0.12-0.24 in) long and are dark maroon in color while stamens are 9-25 millimetres (0.35-0.98 in) and are both erect and prominent. Anthlers are straight, 8-15 millimetres (0.31-0.59 in) long, and are blackish-maroon in color. The species also have erect and ovate ovary which is 5-12 millimetres (0.20-0.47 in) long and is reddish-purple in color. Stigma is also erect and dark purple in color but is subulate and fleshy unlike the ovary. The flower is sessile, of a maroon color fading to brown with narrow lanceolate petals. It emits a smell of rotting meat to attract insect pollinators, hence the name. Its leaves are strongly mottled. The flower turns to a purple-brown berry in autumn.