Platanthera ciliaris

It is pollinated by large butterflies, mostly swallowtails.^[2]

Yellow fringed orchid
Platanthera ciliaris
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Orchidaceae
Subfamily:	Orchidoideae
Genus:	Platanthera
Species:	P. ciliaris
Binomial name
Platanthera ciliaris (L.) Lindl.
Yellow fringed orchid range
Synonyms
Orchis ciliaris L. Habenaria ciliaris (L.) R.Br. Blephariglottis flaviflora Raf. Blephariglottis ciliaris (L.) Rydb.

• Platanthera ciliaris, commonly known as the yellow fringed orchid, yellow-fringed orchid, or orange-fringed orchid, is a large and showy species of orchid. It grows in "acid soil of hillside seepage bogs" in the longleaf pine landscapes of the Gulf Coast of the United States.^[2] Like many species in these habitats, including flatwoods, it is dependent upon recurring fire to create open conditions.^{[3][self-published source]} Further north it is found in bogs, but even here it may be dependent upon fire to create open conditions.

^[4]

The species is at risk in some areas from loss of habitat and collecting. For example, it is endangered in Michigan.^[4] It has been recorded from extreme southern Ontario, but is now thought to be extirpated.^[5]

Taxonomy, Distribution, & Habitat

The genus name, Platanthera, is of Greek origins, with the roots platys and anthera, meaning "broad" and "anther," respectively.^[6] The species name "ciliaris," however, was derived from the Latin word cilium, which means eyelid or eyelashes. Originally named Habenaria ciliaris, French botanist Louis Claude Marie Richard moved to cultivate a unique genus Platenthera from Orchis and Habenaria due to the distinct shape and size of anthers, the pollen producing organ of the stamen, among the approximately 200 species that fall under the genus.^[6][7]

Biology, Reproduction & Pollination

A notable characteristic of Platanthera species are their unique capacity for hybridization, with hybrids in a given region often outnumbering the parental species.^[6] P. ciliaris was particularly noted to have common hybridization in nature with P. blephariglottis.^[8] Throughout populations across North American, hybridization between P. ciliaris and other platanthera species is site-dependent and often the result of shared pollinators.