North Carolina Wildflowers

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Orchidaceae > Platanthera

White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

Uncommon in the NC coastal plain in savannas, pocosin edges, seepages, etc.

White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

Blephariglottis means "eyelash tongue"!

White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

White Fringed Orchids have very long spurs.

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebus sennae) on White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) >White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

I observed several Cloudless Sulphurs (Phoebus sennae) nectaring on White Fringed Orchids.

White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis) White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006


Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) Yellow Fringed Orchid, Orange Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
Craven Co., NC 28 Aug 2005

In NC uncommon to common statewide, yet always spectacular, Yellow Fringed Orchid grows in savannas, bogs, moist meadows, etc.

Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) Yellow Fringed Orchid, Orange Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) Yellow Fringed Orchid, Orange Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) Yellow Fringed Orchid, Orange Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)
Craven Co., NC 27 Aug 2006

Bird's-eye view!


Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata) Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata)
Craven Co., NC
26 Aug 2007

Uncommon in the NC coastal plain and rare in the mountains, Platanthera cristata grows in high quality habitats like pine savannas.

Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata) Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata)
Craven Co., NC
26 Aug 2007

Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata) Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata)
Brunswick Co., NC
11 July 2009

Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata) Yellow-crested Orchid (Platanthera cristata)
Brunswick Co., NC
11 July 2009


Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra) Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra)
Craven Co., NC
27 Aug 2006

Historically statewide in NC, now very rare (threatened) and restricted to a few pine savannas along the coastal plain.

Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra) Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra)
Craven Co., NC
27 Aug 2006

Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra) Yellow Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integra)
Craven Co., NC
27 Aug 2006


Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Alleghany Co., NC 1 July 2005

Uncommon to rare throughout NC, this little beauty grows in bogs, seepages, and other wet soils.

Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Alleghany Co., NC 1 July 2005

Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Alleghany Co., NC 1 July 2005

Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Chesapeake, VA
18 June 2014

This small population of Green Fringed Orchids is about 100m north of the NC state line.

Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Chesapeake, VA
18 June 2014

Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera) Green Fringed Orchid (Platanthera lacera)
Chesapeake, VA
18 June 2014


Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata) Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata)
Watauga Co., NC
22 July 2006

Statewide in NC and fairly common in wet, often wooded, areas, this population at 4800' was still mostly in bud.

Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata) Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata)
Watauga Co., NC
22 July 2006

Cauline leaves

Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata) Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata)
Watauga Co., NC
22 July 2006

This individual had an atypically crooked stem.

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Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.


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Created on ... May 7, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com