Platanthera lacera
(Green Fringed Orchid)

Other pictures of this plant:


               Seedpod                                           Leaf                                            Stem                                        Seed                                          Habit

Facts About this Plant:

    Common Names: Green Fringed Orchid, Ragged Fringed Orchid, Green Fringed Bog Orchid
    Synonyms: Blephariglotis lacera, Habenaria lacera
    Lifespan: Perennial
    Zones: 2 - 7
    Type: Forb
    Bloom Time: May - June
    Status: Native
    Range:

Platanthera lacera, or Green Fringed Orchid, is native to most of the eastern United States. It grows in moist meadows and prairies, in ditches and roadsides, and in swamps and bogs. It blooms in early summer with green or pale-white to yellow flowers that are very fringed.

Platanthera lacera is quite distinct among its species. It has small green to pale-white flowers organized in a group at the top of the stem. They are divided into 3 lobes, which are fringed. It is most close to Platanthera leucophaea but that species has solidly white flowers. It could also possibly be confused, at least the flowers, with Liparis loeselii, but it has a different leaf arrangement - two basal leaves - and is a much shorter plant.

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