Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.

Unlike the larger P. conspicua, which occurs primarily in savannas, this smaller form occurs mainly in sandhill seeps and streamhead pocosin ecotones. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.

Although typical plants of var. blephariglottis and var. conspicua are quite distinctive, most characters vary considerably within and between the varieties and can be misleading. In contrast, spur length seems to be unambiguous, and insofar as it reflects specialization for different pollinators, upon further study it may be shown to delimit distinct species. Additionally, in the limited area in which the two varieties occur together, var. conspicua may bloom somewhat later than var. blephariglottis, per Flora of North America.

Read more and see some beautiful photographs on Jim Fowler's blog: "Orchids in Transylvania County, North Carolina" (August 2013)

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Platanthera blephariglottis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)

Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis

INCLUDED WITHIN (POSSIBLY MISAPPLIED) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-013a:

Habenaria blephariglottis var. blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH (POSSIBLY MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Blephariglottis blephariglottis

COMMON NAME:
Small White Fringed Orchid

         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_blbl2_001_lvd

        

Will Stuart    wil_pblephariglottis0502

July    Scotland    NC

North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands

Spur 15-26mm long, ca. 1× as long as the ovary, per Weakley's Flora (2023).

Will Stuart    wil_pblephariglottis0691

July    Scotland    NC

North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands

Will Stuart    wil_pblephariglottis0109

August    Franklin    NY

Lips descending to reflexed, rather simply fringed (or rarely scarcely more than deeply lacerate), per Flora of North America.

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Platanthera blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Platanthera blephariglottis

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis

INCLUDED WITHIN (POSSIBLY MISAPPLIED) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 049-03-013a:
Habenaria blephariglottis var. blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH (POSSIBLY MISAPPLIED) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Blephariglottis blephariglottis