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Platanthera cristata - (image 1 of 5)

Taxonomy

Family: Orchidaceae

Habitat

Moist sandy or peaty bogs, meadows, prairies, savannas.

Associates

Distribution

Along the coastal plain and in mountains from southeast MA, Long Island, and NJ to FL, LA, and TX, inland to KY, TN, and AR.

Morphology

Herbaceous perennial 30-80 cm; lower 1-3 leaves narrowly lanceolate to linear-oblong, to 20 cm, mostly under 2 cm wide; upper leaves much reduced; inflorescence compact, narrow, cylindric, 3-12 cm long and 3 cm wide; flowers numerous, orange; sepals broadly ovate to obovate, 3-5 mm; lateral petals oblong, shorter than the sepals, lacerate or shortly fringed at the summit; lip oblong, long-fringed, 7-10 mm; spur 5-9 mm; orifice often triangular.

Notes

Flowers July to August

Wetland indicator: FACW

Hybrids with P. blephariglottis are P. x canbyi. Pale flowered plants on Long Island, NY with short spurs, entire dorsal sepals, and a keyhole shaped orifice have been called P. pallida.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

Sheviak, C.J. 2002. Platanthera, In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Eds. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 26. Oxford University Press, New York.

USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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