Sunday, August 11, 2013

Purple Fringeless Orchid

Platanthera peramoena (Purple Fringeless Orchid) was blooming in a wooded wetland in Fayette County, Illinois, near Vandalia.

This orchid was blooming with Monkeyflower, Cardinal Flower, and Blue Lobelia. Needless to say, it was a nice place to visit.

It's hard not to see little faces in the flowers. The lip (the lower petal) has three lobes, and is not fringed.

The orchid wasn't too tall, not much over one foot. Three other individuals were blooming in the area. It would be a challenge to spot when not in bloom.

More information from Illinois Wildflowers.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

I've noticed that some of the fringeless Platanthera orchids are getting moved to Habenaria. It doesn't show up on USDA plants, but I've seen it on the atlas of Florida vascular plants site. I wonder if this one will be moved in the same way.

ben said...

Interesting. I'll have to look more into that.