ragged fringed orchid
Platanthera lacera
Summary 7
Platanthera lacera is an orchid in the genus Platanthera, native throughout Eastern United States and Canada. It occurs in a variety of habitats ranging from “mesic and dry-mesic sand prairie, wet sedge meadow, calcareous fen, sphagnum bog, acid seep spring, dry field, mesic flatwoods, and mesic upland forests.” Common names include ragged fringed orchid and green fringed orchid.
Comments 8
Because of its greenish flowers, this orchid doesn't stand out from the background to the same extent as more colorful orchids in its genus. However, it has a delicate beauty that is peculiarly its own. While there are many orchids in the Midwest that have greenish flowers, this orchid is the only one with a deeply fringed lower lip. Compared to the similar Platanthera leucophaea (Prairie White-Fringed Orchid), the Green-Fringed Orchid has a lower lip with more narrow and insubstantial lobes (this applies particularly to the central lobe). Other species in this genus, e.g. Platanthera blephariglottis (White-Fringed Orchid) and Platanthera ciliaris (Orange-Fringed Orchid), have fringed lower lips that are not divided into major lobes. Thus, not only color, but also subtle differences in floral structure, are important in the identification of an orchid species in this interesting genus.
Sources and Credits
- (c) arethusa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by arethusa
- (c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Denis Doucet
- (c) christel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
- (c) BlueRidgeKitties, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8160/7452437786_915956447f_o.jpg
- (c) BlueRidgeKitties, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8166/7452435954_205aa4c42d_o.jpg
- (c) Choess, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Platanthera_lacera_flowers.JPG
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platanthera_lacera
- (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29442528
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- Go Botany
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Maryland Biodiversity Project
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
