Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid

June 29, 2024

A few days ago, I learned that the eastern prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea) was spotted blooming nearby. This orchid resides in six midwestern states. It is endangered in Wisconsin and federally threatened. It blooms from late June to early July for a period of seven to ten days, so I was eager to see this rare plant blooming before the window closed.

The eastern prairie fringed orchid is a perennial plant that grows from an underground tuber and can remain dormant for years before blooming again. It is pollinated overnight by three species of hawkmoth.

With fragmented habitats decreasing the likelihood of these orchids being pollinated naturally by the hawk moths, local land stewards have begun pollinating them by hand. We flag the locations of any eastern prairie fringed orchids we find.

The fringed petals offer an inviting landing pad for passing moths, guiding them toward their nectar and pollen.

While we walked through the remanent prairie, we collected the seeds of bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata), a hemiparasitic plant that steals nutrients from the surrounding plants through haustoria on its fibrous roots.

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum) flowers wave in the wind, high above the surrounding prairie. The relatively short vegetation in this seasonally flooded remanent prairie highlight the compass plant's grand height even more than usual.

Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum) is beginning to bloom. The leaves have a strong minty and lemony taste.

Unlike the eastern prairie fringed orchid, fringed loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) is named for the hairs on its leaf stalks.

I continue to be amazed by the diversity of life in the prairie, and I could spend many hours watching the setting sun shine through the varied shapes and colors of leaves and petals. I'm very grateful to have seen the rare eastern prairie fringed orchid this year and hope to see it for many more to come.