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

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

Habenaria blephariglottis var. blephariglottis   FAMILY Orchidaceae

COMMON NAME:
Small White Fringed Orchid

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

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