Platanthera leucophaea (Nutt.) Lindl. (prairie white fringed orchid), flowers
3.75890
digital color photograph
Born digital
Photographic image
2005 – 2012
Platanthera leucophaea (Nutt.) Lindl. (prairie white fringed orchid), very rare prairie wildflower, stout erect orchids growing up to 30" tall with smooth hairless stems and leaves, leaves are alternate up to 10" long with bases strongly clasping the stem and tips that are tapered to long points, flowers are in clusters along the tops of the stems often with more than 20 per plant, each flower has 3 rounded whitish sepals about 1/2" long and 2 rounded creamy white upper petals that are usually slightly larger than the sepals and a distinctive creamy white lower petal called a lip which can be over 1" long and wide and is divided into 3 narrow lobes each of which is fringed with long narrow segments, flowers have a downward-pointing tube-like spur which can be over 2" long, this plant is federally listed as threatened, notice the protective cage
