Yellow Fringed Orchid
Platanthera ciliaris
The orange fringed orchid, an unmistakable dense raceme of flowers with deeply cut, fringed lips and long nectar spurs. Those spurs are built for butterflies — swallowtails pollinate it while larger bees cannot reach. Needs acidic, permanently damp ground and full sun.
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–3 ft
- Spacing
- 1–2 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist, dry, wet
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- July, August, September
- Bloom colors
- orange, yellow
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, pollinators
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV