Spiranthes romanzoffiana

Lindley var. erostellata Catling
Oval Ladies' Tresses
Location Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories.
Specific Habitat

Widespread in boreal and cool temperature regions of North America. It is common in the northern part of the Bruce Peninsula but infrequent in the Ottawa Region.
It prefers sunny, often marly places, or areas that are flooded early in the season.

Flowering Season Mid July to early September, occasionally later.

Description

Height 7 Š 25 cm.
Leaves linear to oblong-lanceolate, smooth, mostly basal, becoming smaller higher up the stem.
Inflorescence dense, 3 ranked.
Flowers are tubular, white or creamy, and fragrant. Petals and sepals form a hood over the lip which is fiddle-shaped. The lip is constricted so that it is narrowest about two-thirds of the way from base to tip.

Comments

Widespread from Lakes Erie and Ontario to James and HudsonÕs Bays. Quite frequent in the Canadian Shield region and northward. Colonies are usually small and short-lived.
Companion plants are grasses, horsetails, sedges and mosses. Platanthera dilatata will also be seen in the same locations.

References

Orchids of Ontario
The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol III-1
The Native Orchids of the United States and Canada excluding Florida
The Orchids of Bruce & Grey

Habitat Plant Flower

© Royal Botanical Gardens, Dr. Donald Gunn Image Collection.