Angiosperms: Monocotyledons

Orchidaceae
Orchid Family

• Stem: perennial; 2’ to 3’ tall; unbranched; smooth.
• Leaves: alternate; oval, tapering to both ends, sheathing the stem at the base; 4” by 1”, the sheath about 4” long; smooth above and below.
• Inflorescence: spike, about 6” long; each flower with a 1” bract below its attachment to the flower stalk.
• Flowers: lower petal in three lobes, fringed on the margins, 1” long, with a spur from the base up to 2” long; upper petals 1” long; sepals about 7/16” long; petals and sepals attached to the top of the linear ovary (inferior ovary), 1” long; flowering from mid-June to mid-July.
• Fruits: capsule, linear, 1” by 1/8”; flower parts remain attached during early development; fruits develop in August; many tiny seeds.
• Habitat: very infrequent on moist prairies; apparently not blooming every year; listed as endangered in Iowa and threatened federally.
• Notes: A closely related species, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Platanthera leu-cophaea (Nutt.) Lindley, with smaller flowers, shorter petals, and a shorter spur, is rare in eastern Iowa (designated with E on the map above). It is also listed as endangered in Iowa and threatened federally.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa