Nearctica - Eastern Wildflowers - Orchidaceae - Purple Fringed Orchis (Platanthera grandiflora)

Purple Fringed Orchis

(Platanthera grandiflora)

Color Photograph: NRCS Plants Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Purple Fringed Orchis (Platanthera grandiflora [Bigelow] Lindl.)

Identification: Flower purple with a long, curved rear spur. Lower petal 1 to 2 centimeters broad, divided into 3 distinct lobes, each lobe fringed. Upper and lateral petals small, pointed upward. Flowers in tight, apical racemes greater than 2 inches thick. Stem with a few, small, elongate leaves. Base of plant with large, ovate-elongate leaves. Plant 1 to 4 feet in height.

Distribution: Southeastern Ontario to Newfoundland, southward in the mountains to North Carolina and Georgia.

Habitat: Purple Fringed Orchis is found in rich woods and meadows.

Flowering period: June to August.

Similar Species: Purple Fringed Orchis is very similar to Small Purple Fringed Orchis, but is generally larger. The racemes of Purple Fringed Orchis are greater than 2 inches in width; those of Small Purple Fringed Orchis are less than 2 inches. The lower petal of Small Purple Fringed Orchis is 0.8 to 1.2 centimeters in width; that of Purple Fringed Orchis 1 to 2 centimeters.