About Wild Orchids

Florida Native Orchids

• Florida has a number of native species of orchid that are protected by law. The bearded grass pink, Calopogon barbatus, grows less than 6 inches high with flowers that range from white to magenta. It can be found in open pinelands and wet prairies, as well as in wet, roadside ditches. The yellow fringeless orchid, Platanthera integra, grows to 18 inches tall with a yellow to orange flower head. It is also found in wet prairie areas of the state. The ghost orchid, Dendrophylax lindenii, is a rare plant only found in the southwestern part of Florida. It has a leafless, epiphytic growing center from which a single, white flower emerges once each season. It is found in deep swamps, on the trunks of pop ash, live oak or cypress.

Texas Native Orchids

• Nodding lady's tresses, Spiranthes cernua, has narrow, grassy leaves that grow to 10 inches tall from the root of the plant. White flowers grow along the tops of the stems in spiraling rows. It is a fragrant plant found in marshes and swamps. The chatterbox orchid gets its name from the movements of the lower lip and tongue of the delicate, greenish-brown and pink flower, that seems to "chatter" when touched, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The spring coralroot orchid, Corallorhiza wisteriana, sporadically produces small flowers with a greenish-bronze color. It grows in hardwood forests when soil is moist but not wet.

Arizona Native Orchids

• Thurber's bog orchid, Habenaria limosa, blooms from June to September in moist, wooded areas of Arizona. The chatterbox orchid's scientific name is Epipactis gigantean, and is also known as stream orchid. It bears brownish-coral flowers and is found at elevations of 3000 to 8000 feet. It blooms from April to July. Broad-leaved tway blade, Listera convallarioides, blooms from July to September with small, green flowers that attract insects. Their presence triggers a mechanism that releases pollen, which the insect then carries to another flower.

Washington State Native Orchids

• The phantom orchid, Cephalanthera austiniae, is a mycoheterotrophic plant, which is one that draws nutrients from fungal intermediates attached to other plants instead of using photosynthesis. It is a rare orchid that grow from 4 to 26 inches tall, with a spire of white flowers that have a yellow dot on the lip. It is a forest-dwelling plant that lives along mountain ranges. The American frog orchid, Coeloglossum viride, grows to 4 feet tall with greenish-yellow to brownish flowers on long bracts. It grows in wet forests, bogs and swamps.